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Mother of Three Dies After Being Kidnapped and Beaten in Jamaica: Sources

By  Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska and Gustavo Solis | December 5, 2013 7:07pm 

 A 38-year old woman, who was brought to Jamaica Hospital in a livery cab, died after being beaten.
Mother of Three Dies After Being Kidnapped and Beaten, Police Say
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QUEENS — A Harlem mother of three was kidnapped and brutally beaten with a metal pipe Tuesday morning before being taken by her captors to Jamaica Hospital where she died, police and sources said.

The injuries that Sheryl Outerbridge, 38, suffered were so horrific that police initially thought she had been shot in the head. They also believed that she was taken to the hospital by good Samaritans.

Outerbridge was abducted and brought to the apartment of Devonnee Wilkerson, 32, on 116th Road, between 142nd and 143rd streets in South Jamaica, police said.

At the apartment, Wilkerson and a male accomplice, who police said both knew the victim, struck Outerbridge on the head with a glass beer bottle, according to the NYPD. They then hit her repeatedly with a metal pipe, police said.

About 10:40 a.m. the pair took Outerbridge to Jamaica Hospital in a livery cab, where she was pronounced dead, authorities said.

It was not clear when and where the Harlem woman was abducted.

Outerbridge was the mother of a teenage son and two younger daughters, according to Cecilia Smith, 38, who lives in the same building in Harlem and has known her for more than a decade.

The children lived with other relatives, but Smith said Outerbridge was still involved in their lives.

"She was a smart girl," Smith said. "She wanted to get a career as a financial consultant and be a better mother to her children."

Police said that after bringing the mortally injured woman to the hospital, the man left, while Wilkerson stayed.

Initially, Wilkerson told investigators that she and the man had found Outerbridge injured in the street on Sutphin Boulevard, but police believed she was lying.

Wilkerson was arrested on Wednesday and charged with kidnapping resulting in a death, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

She has several previous arrests dating back to 2001, police said. In 2010, she was arrested for bringing tobacco, considered contraband, to a prison.

Police said they were continuing to search for Wilkerson's accomplice.

The Medical Examiners Office, which is examining Outerbridge’s body, said results of their investigation might be ready by next week.

Outerbridge's death shocked her friends who posted a number of messages on her Facebook page. "RIP. Gone too soon but never forgotten sweetie. Prayers and sympathy for the family," posted one of her friends.

"Can't believe you r gone," posted another.