Inset: Badara Kone (Delaware State Police). Background: The Delaware home where Badara Kone allegedly abused his 10-year-old daughter with her stepmother, Adiaratou Coulibaly (WPVI/YouTube).
A dying 10-year-old girl in Delaware was helped to bed by her brothers after their father and stepmother beat and punished the youngster severely with "various objects, forced exercises," police say.
The victim, Fatima Kone, was killed by her father Badara Kone and stepmother Adiaratou Coulibaly on May 28 at their home in Smyrna, according to a Delaware State Police press release.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, Kone was charged last week with two felony counts of continuous child abuse, eight counts of fourth-degree child abuse, and murder. Coulibaly has now also been charged with second-degree murder by abuse or neglect, according to DSP officials.
"During the investigation, homicide detectives found that Coulibaly was involved in the circumstances surrounding Fatima's death," the DSP release said. "It was revealed that after the incident with Fatima's father, Badara Kone, the abuse continued in other areas of the home, carried out by Coulibaly. Coulibaly subjected Fatima to severe and prolonged abuse using various objects and forced exercises."
Police said last week that Kone abused Fatima so badly with a belt that she fell and fatally hit her head on a piece of furniture.
"Following the assault, her siblings in the home assisted the victim to her bedroom," a DSP press release said. "She was later found deceased, but 9-1-1 was not notified for an extended period of time."
Fatima was found dead in her bedroom shortly after 2 a.m. on May 28, prompting officers to respond to the family's home on Oakwynn Circle. A preliminary investigation revealed that on May 27, Kone "struck Fatima numerous times with a leather belt, as self-described discipline," according to last week's DSP release.
"While being struck, the child fell to the ground and is believed to have hit her head on a piece of furniture," the release said. A medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Fatima classified her death as a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries.
Cops said Fatima's two brothers, ages 15 and 11, were the ones who helped bring her to bed after Kone's alleged fatal beating. "Detectives obtained evidence supporting that the children had been continuously physically abused," the DSP release said about Fatima and her siblings.
The boys were taken to a nearby hospital for precautionary wellness checks, and that's when the alleged abuse was uncovered.
Kone was arrested that same day for the "abuse of the male children" and Fatima's death, according to DSP officials. He remained in custody this week on a $180,000 cash bond.
Coulibaly is currently being held by the New York City Department of Correction and, upon being extradited to Delaware, will be charged with murder, per DSP.