Mom Who Confessed To Killing 4-Year-Old To Get Psych Evaluation

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — Brownsville woman Zarah Coombs, who confessed to striking her 4-year-old son with a broomstick multiple times and leaving him in a makeshift bathtub to drown, was ordered on Friday to get a psychiatric evaluation, according to a spokesperson from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office. Coombs on Thursday was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, among other charges, police said. Her next court date is Feb. 24.

Coombs said on Wednesday night she found her young son Zamair Coombs face down in a plastic storage bin filled with water after she left him unattended in the container for an unidentified amount of time, according to the criminal complaint. Coombs was accused of striking her son with the broomstick several times on his head and body, causing bruising and contusions, before leaving him in the tub, according to the complaint.

The doctor at Brookdale Hospital who treated the 4-year-old said the child was brought to the hospital on Wednesday and pronounced dead on Thursday, the complaint said. The medical examiner will determine the cause of the child's death.

The Department of Investigations opened a formal investigation on Thursday into the death of the child, a spokesperson from the DOI told Patch. The DOI has also requested authorization from the New York Office of Family and Children's Services to obtain records on Zarah Coombs, the spokesperson confirmed. Any records the Office of Family and Children's Services shares with the DOI must remain confidential except in the case of a court order or a fatality or annual report released by the DOI, according to the New York Social Services Law.

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