Autistic Teen Tortured To Death By UWS Cousin, DA Says

Editor's note: Victims of domestic violence and people who may be at risk can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). For emergencies, call 911.

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — An Upper West Side woman was found guilty of assaulting and causing the death of her autistic 15-year-old cousin in June 2021, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said on Friday.

According to Bragg, Jallen McConnie, the 15-year-old, had been living with his adoptive sister and legal guardian when he was sent to stay with his cousin Johnette Booker, who lived in an apartment on Columbus Avenue and West 94th Street in the summer of 2021.

Bragg said Booker, 43, intended to punish the teen for what she believed to be misbehavior at home.

During the 32 days McConnie lived on the Upper West Side, Booker hit him repeatedly with belts, forced him to sleep on the floor, forced him to sit facing the wall with his legs crossed for the majority of the day, forced him to scrub her floor, and denied him his prescription medications, Bragg said.

On June 28, 2021, after Booker and another cousin beat McConnie, Booker made McConnie open his mouth in the bathroom and forced water down his throat until he collapsed in her bathtub, Bragg said.

Then Booker delayed calling 911 and lied to the medics, police and other emergency responders, Bragg said.

She later claimed in a court document that McConnie had committed suicide, but a medical examiner deemed the cause of death to be homicidal asphyxia, Bragg said.

“She physically and emotionally tortured her special needs cousin, in what can only be described as absolutely shocking and horrific behavior," Bragg said.

"Instead of providing him with love and care when she assumed the role of caregiver by taking him into her home for the summer, she preyed on him, and her actions and omissions caused his tragic death."

A New York Supreme Court jury found Booker guilty of manslaughter in the first degree, gang assault in the first degree, and assault in the first degree, among other charges, Bragg said.

"No child should ever be treated this way, and I thank our prosecutors for their hard work to deliver accountability in this case," Bragg said.

The defendant will be sentenced on March 7.

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