Dad who allegedly locked daughter inside fiery car dies from burns
The monster dad who torched a car with his 3-year-old daughter locked inside during a bitter custody battle over the child has died from burns he sustained in the killing, police sources told the Post.
Martin Pereira, 39, had been hospitalized in the burn unit of Weill Cornell Medical Center since May 6 when he poured gas on the car with its doors chained shut and his daughter, Zoey Pereira, in the back seat. The source said the dad died in the hospital Tuesday.
Pereira suffered second- and third-degree burns and was medically sedated after killing his daughter. He and Zoey’s mom, Cherone Coleman, were fighting for custody of the child at the time of the attack, and Pereira had threatened to hurt their kid before he followed through, sources said.
Cherone’s family celebrated Pereira’s death as they continue to grieve Zoey’s death.
“I hope he burns in the sub-basement of hell,” said Denise Coleman, Cherone’s mother and Zoey’s grandmother. “I am happy he’s dead. If I could dance a jig I would.”
Zoey’s gruesome death was ruled a homicide one day after her charred remains were extricated from the flaming Audi A6 in Springfield Gardens.
A good Samaritan had spotted a flaming Pereira flee the car and used a blanket to help put out his burning clothes. Pereira then jumped into a park pond and tried to hide as police arrived, but he was eventually nabbed and taken into custody. Medics rushed Zoey to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, but she could not be saved.
Months since the killing, Denise Coleman was still absolutely furious with Pereira and said his death brought some closure.
“He was so selfish. He wanted to hurt my daughter — [so] he murdered my grandbaby. He burned her alive,” she said as she broke down in the Jamaica, Queens, apartment she shares with her daughter.
Coleman said her daughter is still devastated over Zoey’s death, but she recently went back to work as a medical assistant to cope with her loss.
“She is so hurt,” Coleman said of her daughter. “I’m her mother and I can’t do anything for her now.”
Coleman put blame on the city’s Administration for Children’s Services for not acting on reports her daughter had filed on Pereira. Both parents had reported each other to various children’s protective services for maltreatment of Zoey, police sources previously told the Post.
“My daughter, I can’t speak for her but maybe she can find some peace,” Coleman said. “His family, they’re all demonic and evil. They never reached out to her.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/01/29/dad-who-allegedly-locked-daughter-inside-fiery-car-dies-from-burns/
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