Mother's Boyfriend Gets 25 Years to Life for Murder of 6-Year-Old Zymere Perkins Little Zymere was found to be living in a filthy, moldy, cockroach-ridden apartment with no electricity before his death in 2016 Published 2 hours ago • Updated 2 hours ago What to Know Zymere Perkins was found covered in bruises, scratches and welts on his stomach when his mom brought him to the hospital in 2016 The 6-year-old boy later died from what an investigation determined to be fatal child abuse syndrome Rysheim Smith, the boyfriend of Zymere's mother, was found guilty on all counts including murder and manslaughter The boyfriend of a 6-year-old New York City boy's mother was sentenced to decades in prison Monday for the child's death, ending one of the highest-profile child abuse cases the city has seen over the past few years.