By Alex Robinson
An 8-year-old Flushing boy, whose father allegedly admitted to strangling him to death before slitting his own wrists Sunday night, was identified by police as Jerry Kenmoe, the NYPD said.
Police said they found the boy’s father, Boujeke Kenmoe, lying on the ground in front of a bathroom in his first-floor apartment on Underhill Avenue with self-inflicted cuts to both his wrists.
Kenmoe had tried to commit suicide and later called 911 to request an ambulance for him and his son, according to the Queens district attorney’s office. Responding authorities found Jerry’s lifeless body face up on a bed in a rear bedroom, police said.
Kenmoe allegedly told responding officers he had strangled the boy, according to the NYPD. A preliminary report by the city’s medical examiner’s office said Jerry had hemorrhaging in his eyes when he was found, a sign the boy was likely strangled, the DA’s office said. The medical examiner ruled Jerry’s death a homicide Tuesday afternoon and concluded it was caused by compression of his neck.
The father was taken to New York Hospital Queens to be treated for his own injuries and was later arrested on a second-degree murder charge, police said.
“This is a horrifying case of a father accused of murdering his own son, a defenseless 8-year-old boy, by choking him to death,” Queens DA Richard Brown said in a statement. “The defendant’s actions, if true, are incomprehensible in a civilized society and must be severely punished.”
Neighbors said Kenmoe seemed like a nice father who would often walk his son to school.
“To me, he seemed like a loving father,” said James Lana, a neighbor who lives down the block. “Whenever I saw him taking him to school, they were holding hands.”
Lana said he would often see Jerry riding his bike around the block.
“He was a nice kid. He used to ride his bike and not bother anyone,” he said. “He was a well-behaved boy. That’s why it was a shock.”
Kenmoe was still in the hospital Tuesday afternoon awaiting to be arraigned, the DA’s office said.
Neighbors said Kenmoe appeared to live in the apartment by himself with the boy. Court records showed Kenmoe was divorced from his wife, Orlie Siankam, in 2010. Siankam could not be reached for comment.
If convicted, Kenmoe could face 25 years to life in prison.
Reach reporter Alex Robinson by e-mail at arobinson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
