HARLEM, N.Y. — The man charged with fatally beating his girlfriend’s son over a two day period blamed the injuries on bullies when he was questioned by detectives, a high-ranking law enforcement source told PIX11 News on Saturday.
Ayden Wolfe, 10, was discovered naked and unresponsive in the family’s fourth-floor apartment at St. Nicholas Houses after a 911 call on March 6.
The boyfriend of the child’s mother, Ryan Cato, 34, used an alibi when he spoke to investigators, the source told PIX11.
“What he did try to say was he (Ayden) went outside a lot and got beat up by the neighborhood kids,” the source said.
But Cato’s story didn’t mesh with what one neighbor heard the day before Ayden’s death — or the massive injuries the child suffered.
The neighbor called 911 on March 5 after hearing banging, thumping and yelling coming from an apartment on the fourth floor for about 40 minutes. He also heard someone moaning.
The police source told PIX11 that officers assigned to Housing PSA #6 responded to the building on West 131st Street and went to the fourth floor to investigate.
“There are eight apartments on the fourth floor,” the source said. “We tried to reach the 911 caller. They (police) were on the floor for 12 to 14 minutes.”
Police apparently spent their time looking for clues of a domestic incident but didn’t want to start banging on doors.
“Nobody came out,” the law enforcement source said. “We kept trying to reach the 911 caller.”
The officers ultimately left the fourth floor and responded to more calls they were directed to.
Police said more screaming and banging was heard from the family’s apartment on the morning of March 6. That afternoon, Cato called 911 and said the boy was unconscious.
When police arrived, they found Ayden naked and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead within the hour at Harlem Hospital.
The medical examiner said Ayden died of battered child syndrome and there was evidence of old and new injuries to his body. The boy had multiple broken ribs and bruising all over his face and body, along with a lacerated kidney, liver and spleen.
Ayden’s biological father, who lives in the Bronx, and the boy’s neighbors in Harlem were heartbroken.
They said Ayden was tech-savvy and very intelligent. He was his mother’s only child.
Because Ayden was doing his school work remotely at home, there was no opportunity for teachers to notice if he was being victimized.
Police learned Cato had previous domestic violence charges leveled against him by another partner, the mother of his children.
They said his statement about Ayden’s injuries was inconsistent, and Cato was arrested on charges of murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
“We believe right now the mother is a victim of abuse,” the law enforcement source told PIX11. “She’s requested a lawyer. We think she’s going to cooperate.”
Editor’s Note: Funeral information has been removed from this post at the request of the family.
