BY KEIKO MORRIS
STAFF WRITER
www.newsday.com
November 6, 2004
LONG ISLAND — A nanny who police said slapped, kicked and smothered a 10-month-old girl with a toy to make her stop crying was arrested this week in Garden City after an enraged father watched the alleged abuse on a newly installed "nanny cam."
Bella Zalamea, 62, of 37 Howells Rd., Bay Shore, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child at about 2 a.m. Thursday and was arraigned later that day in First District Court in Hempstead. She was ordered held in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Zalamea, who also gave a Bronx address to police, had worked as a live-in nanny caring for the two young daughters of Raymond Hayes and his wife, first when the family lived in Manhattan and later when the family moved to Garden City, Nassau police said. The Hayes' other daughter is 2 years old.
The tape revealed Zalamea placing the 10-month-old on the floor of the playroom, police said. When the baby began to cry, Zalamea slapped the child three times in the head, police said. The baby continued to cry and Zalamea slapped the child three times in the buttocks area and then kicked the child in the buttocks area as she continued to sob on the floor, police said.
Still attempting to quiet the child, Zalamea picked the baby up, placed her in her lap and pressed a green, stuffed toy turtle against the baby's face, preventing the baby from breathing, police said.
"It was held on the child's face for close to 15 seconds, at which time you could see the baby arch back seeking breath," said Nassau Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.
The baby's father had attempted to use a "nanny cam" before, but could not get the system to work, Smith said. This time, he was able to install a new surveillance system in his home on Tuesday. The following day, he watched the surveillance tape at about 11:30 p.m., long after he and his wife had returned home from work.
"He had this one installed never with the expectation he was going to see something criminal in nature," Smith said.
Zalamea, who is a native of Ecuador, worked for the family from February 2003 to April 2004. The couple hired a different nanny for a few months, but hired Zalamea again in August after they moved to Garden City. Police said there had been no signs of prior abuse.
The baby was checked by her pediatrician and is in good health, police said.
Still, the abuse shocked even veteran detectives.
"For seasoned guys to tell me this was disturbing to watch, I think it says a lot," Smith said.