MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The mother of a 4-year-old boy who died after being severely burned while in the care of her fiancé is overwhelmed with grief. She said the man she loved betrayed her in the most evil of ways and should die in prison.
Danisha Cotton said she was working when Khalil Jabali called her and not 911. She believes he lied when he said there had been an accident. She rushed home and took her son to a hospital, but it was too late.
Romiere Cotton suffered burns to 15 percent of his body, along with other injuries.
"They had to do brain surgery and they had to remove the skull," Danisha Cotton told Local 10 News anchor Nicole Perez.
Jabali wasn't just taking care of Romiere, but of Cotton's other two children.
According to a police report, Jabali told Cotton and police that Romiere grabbed a bowl and poured hot water on himself.
Miami Gardens police and prosecutors didn't believe Jabali. He was arrested and faces charges of child abuse and aggravated child abuse with great bodily harm or torture.
"He definitely deserves life in prison," Cotton said of Jabali.
Jabali also faces a charge of child molestation after Cotton's 6-year-old daughter told police Jabali sexually abused her. Cotton said it was a shocking revelation.
"She never told me that," Cotton said.
Cherisse Jackson, Cotton's mother, remembers Romiere as a fighter who loved super heroes.
"He always used to say, 'I'm strong! I'm strong like Spiderman!'" she said.
The family set up a GoFundMe page to deal with the unexpected expense of Romiere's funeral. Family members are planning a wake from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 10 at the Hadley Davis Funeral Home, 16505 NW 27th Ave., in Opa-locka. The funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 11 at the Bread of Life Community Church, 16305 NW 48th Ave., in Miami Gardens.