Bronx cops recovered a pen that may have been used to fatally stab 4-year- old Emmanuel Barima in the jugular – and they were conducting tests to determine if it’s the murder weapon, police sources said last night.
A child psychologist was helping detectives question three youngsters – Emmanuel’s sister Abigail, 5, and two boys, brothers ages 8 and 10, who live in the building and were implicated by Abigail.
“It’s very hard,” one police source said of the delicate efforts to piece together the tragic events of Wednesday afternoon.
Emmanuel, who was supposed to start kindergarten this week, bled to death after being stabbed in the neck while running an errand in the hall of his South Bronx building.
Abigail saw the slaying but apparently didn’t understand what happened.
“There’s Emmanuel. There’s Emmanuel. Where is he?” she repeatedly asked while watching television coverage yesterday, a family friend said.
Abigail told relatives that two brothers who live in the building, and who had teased her in the past, were the culprits, family and police said.
“My daughter ran inside and said that two boys had attacked Emmanuel,” said distraught mom Elizabeth Ghunney, who cradled her dying son in her arms moments after the assault.
Cops asked the public for help, offering a $2,000 Crimestoppers reward.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel’s family pleaded for answers. “I still don’t understand what has happened. My heart is empty,” wept mom-of-six Ghunney.
“He had a beautiful smile. He was very, very bright. He was very excited with the idea of going to school,” he said.
“I called my son Emmanuel. It means ‘God is with you.’ But Emmanuel is now with God.”