Defendant Slammed 5-Month-Old’s Head Against Wall, Did Not Seek Help
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx woman has been
indicted on Murder and Manslaughter charges in the death of her 5-month-old son, who
suffered a fractured skull after she slammed his head against a wall.
District Attorney Clark said, “This infant suffered grievous head injuries, allegedly
inflicted by his mother. The crime was all the more callous because she allegedly did not obtain
medical attention for the baby for more than an hour. We will get justice for this innocent life
that was taken so soon.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Joann McLeod, 30, of 1420 Bronx River
Avenue, has been indicted on second-degree Murder, first and second-degree Manslaughter and
Endangering the Welfare of a Child. She was arraigned today before Bronx Supreme Court
Justice George Villegas and remand was continued. She is due back in court on October 2,
2018.
According to the investigation, between midnight on June 3, 2018 and 9 a.m. on June 4,
2018, inside McLeod’s apartment in 1420 Bronx River Avenue, the defendant picked up her 5-
month-old son, Raymond Porfil Jr., shook him and slammed his head against a wall several
times. She purposefully did not obtain medical attention for the infant for more than an hour,
including leaving the apartment for a period of time.
District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detectives Christian
Gutierrez of the 43rd Precinct Squad and John Ferretti of the Bronx Homicide Squad.
An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.
