Mother, ex-boyfriend arraigned for murder of Baby Fay

CATSKILL―Lameik Shakur Wilson and Farhiya Gaal were arraigned Wednesday morning on murder and other charges stemming from the brutal beating death of Gaal’s three-year-old daughter.

Wilson, 24, and Gaal, 26, both pleaded not guilty during separate proceedings in front of Greene County Court Judge David M. Costanzo who remanded them back to jail without bail.

The child, Fay Mohamed, passed away on February 25 at Albany Medical Center after being taken off life support the prior day. She had been hospitalized in critical condition ever since January 28 when, in the words of Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione, she was “beaten and abused beyond comprehension.”

On Monday, a grand jury indicted Wilson and Gaal on a top count of second-degree murder.

Wilson is additionally charged with first-degree manslaughter, reckless assault of a child, second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Gaal is also charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree perjury and endangering the welfare of a child.

Wilson is represented by Greene County Public Defender Angelo Scaturro who did not make a request for bail during the arraignment.

Gaal’s court-appointed attorney, John Hillman of Kinderhook, requested Costanzo set “reasonable bail,” saying that Gaal is not a danger to society and her alleged involvement in her daughter’s death was not violent.

“She is essentially charged with willful neglect,” Hillman said.

Assistant District Attorney Monica Kenny-Keff, who is prosecuting along with Assistant District Attorney Krista Kline, argued that Gaal has no family in the area, could face a lengthy prison sentence if found guilty, and is currently on probation. Her probation, in Seneca County, was for a conviction of attempted promotion of prison contraband and Costanzo noted that Gaal was previously subject to a bench warrant for failure to appear there for a hearing.

Wilson was initially arrested by the Greene County Sheriff's Office on January 29 and charged with second-degree assault, a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. He has been remanded to the Greene County Jail ever since.

Wilson is not Mohamed’s biological father but had been in a relationship with Gaal at the time the child was assaulted. Wilson had been living in Cairo, but both he and Gaal are from Rochester.

It was around 4:14 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, that Greene County 911 dispatched police and EMS to an apartment at 579 Main Street in Cairo for a report of a three-year-old girl found unconscious and bleeding from the mouth.

The child, later identified as Mohamed, was noted to have multiple visible injuries and was treated at the scene before being airlifted to Albany Medical Center, the sheriff’s office reported.

Authorities had said that Gaal was at a job interview when Wilson allegedly attacked her daughter. But following Mohamed’s death, on Wednesday, March 4, Gaal was arrested by the sheriff’s office on the initial charge of second-degree manslaughter.

“New evidence was then revealed through the continued investigation by both the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and the district attorney’s office,” the district attorney’s office had said in a statement Monday announcing Wilson and Gaal’s murder indictments.

Since her March 4 arrest, Gaal has been remanded to jail and is currently being housed in Ulster County.

Wilson was already known to local law enforcement after being arrested several times since last May.

“This past summer, Wilson was charged with public lewdness.  It was a disgusting offense displayed in public,” Stanzione had said, referring to a May 21, 2025, arrest by the Town of Cairo Police Department.

“He was investigated for masturbating inside of the library and arrested quickly afterwards,” Cairo Police Sergeant-in-Charge Rick Busch confirmed.

Wilson was convicted and sent to jail, but Stanzione said, “Unfortunately, public lewdness is merely a Class B misdemeanor for which the maximum sentence is a 90-day sentence, for which a defendant actually serves only 60 days.”

Then, as the result of a June 4, 2025, arrest by State Police in Cairo, Wilson was convicted of attempted petit larceny and placed on probation.

State Police arrested Wilson in Cairo again on July 3, 2025, and charged him with two counts of forcible touching, a misdemeanor. He was arraigned and sent to the Greene County Jail in lieu of bail but was later released.

But Stanzione said Wilson also allegedly violated the terms of his probation.

“A hearing date on the violation was to be scheduled. The goal of my office was to achieve a conviction on the violation and have him again sentenced to jail,” said Stanzione.

“Unfortunately, a hearing date had not yet been set before the current crime was committed,” Stanzione added.

Wilson’s other prior convictions include second-degree attempted robbery in Monroe County in September of 2018. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Then in January of 2023, he was convicted in Columbia County on one count of aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate and served 22 months in state prison. While incarcerated in an Oneida County facility in December of 2024, he was also convicted of second-degree promoting prison contraband and sentenced to time served, Stanzione said

State records show Wilson was released from prison in February of 2025.

If convicted of Mohamed’s murder, Wilson and Gaal could be sentenced to up to life in prison.