The Delaware State Police has released an update to a story we first brought you regarding the step mother of a 10-year-old Smyrna girl.
Investigators have alleged Adiaratou Coulibaly was not merely sought in connection with Fatima Kone’s death but was directly involved in the abuse that led to the 10-year-old’s homicide.
According to police, homicide detectives determined that after the abuse allegedly inflicted by Fatima’s father, Badara Kone, Coulibaly continued abusing the child in other areas of the home. Investigators allege that Coulibaly subjected Fatima to severe and prolonged abuse using various objects and forced exercises. Based on those findings, the Delaware Department of Justice authorized charges against Coulibaly on June 3, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Authorities said members of the U.S. Marshals Service First State Fugitive Task Force and the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Adiaratou Coulibaly in New York City on June 5. She is currently being held by the New York City Department of Correction pending extradition to Delaware, where she will face a charge of second-degree murder by abuse or neglect.
A press release distributed by the U.S. Marshals Service originally referred to Coulibaly as the mother of the girl. Delaware State Police later released an update that she was the stepmother. Records indicate Coulibaly is being held at the Rose M. Singer Center on Rikers Island and is scheduled for a court appearance on June 18.
Fatima was found dead in her Smyrna home on May 28. An autopsy conducted by the Delaware Division of Forensic Science determined her death was a homicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries. Kone remains incarcerated in Delaware on charges that include second-degree murder by abuse or neglect, continuous child abuse, and child abuse offenses involving Fatima’s two brothers.
