NYC woman sentenced for torturing autistic teen to death at 'cousin boot camp'

NEW YORK (TCN) -- A 43-year-old woman will spend the next two decades behind bars for abusing and torturing her autistic cousin over the span of about a month, ultimately killing him.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Monday, March 24, that a judge sentenced Johnette Booker to 20 years in prison after she was convicted last month of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault, first-degree gang assault, second-degree gang assault, second-degree assault, and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the death of 15-year-old Jallen McConnie.

According to the district attorney’s office, McConnie lived with his adoptive sister, his legal guardian, in North Carolina and Georgia. In May 2021, the sister sent McConnie to New York City for "cousin boot camp" as a form of "punishment for what she believed to be misbehavior at home." The statement said McConnie was a "special needs child who the defendant believed to be autistic."

McConnie stayed at Booker’s Upper West Side apartment, where Booker reportedly "physically and emotionally tortured" him.

Bragg said McConnie was "physically assaulted multiple times with belts, forced to sleep on the floor, forced to sit facing the wall with his legs crossed for the majority of the day, forced to do intensive exercises, hold heavy books over his head, scrub her floor, stand in the corner touching his toes, and was denied his prescription medications."

On June 28, 2021, Booker used a belt to hit McConnie’s arms, face, legs, and body for over an hour. She also brought another relative in to whip him with the belt and punch him. The attack reportedly "left Mr. McConnie’s body covered in welts and bruises, including on the chest, back, face, both arms, and both legs."

Booker reportedly brought McConnie to a bathroom and "forced water down his throat." He then collapsed in the bathtub and died.

Bragg said Booker waited a long time to call 911, and when she did, she lied about what happened. She reportedly claimed McConnie got jumped by boys in a nearby park, then said her cousin died by suicide. She also said she was "in her bedroom when the incident occurred and could not hear what was happening."

The medical examiner determined McConnie died from homicidal asphyxia.

Bragg said, "Johnette Booker stands convicted of killing her younger, vulnerable cousin through her vicious and cruel behavior. For over a month, Booker knowingly put Jallen McConnie through an excruciating level of abuse and trauma, up until the final moments of his life. Booker will serve a significant prison term for this utterly horrific conduct and my thoughts remain with Mr. McConnie’s loved ones, who continue to grieve this devastating loss."

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