What did Zyaire Crumbley do? ‘Baby face killer’ charged in connection to Saniyah Lawrence’s death

On Monday, December 12, 18-year-old Zyaire Crumbley surrendered to New York authorities after allegedly murdering his 16-year-old girlfriend, Saniyah Lawrence.

As per People News, on Sunday, December 11, New York teenager Saniyah Lawrence was found with a stab wound to the neck in a Harlem apartment. New York authorities believe the killing was the consequence of an argument that escalated into violence.

Fox reported that Zyaire Crumbley, who was referred to by New York officials as a "baby face" killer due to his youthful appearance, is being held in police custody without bail.

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Zyaire Crumbley was already on probation for robbery

As per ABC7, Zyaire Crumbley was known to authorities for his alleged involvement in multiple robberies, with his earliest arrest being in 2016.

The teen's first brush with the law began in 2015, the same year he ran away from home at the age of 11. Fox reported that Zyaire Crumbley was hospitalized after he was deemed mentally disturbed as he had been making threats to other classmates.

As reported by the New York Post, at the time of the Saniyah Lawrence killing, the teen was already on probation on a 2020 armed robbery charge. He is suspected of at least four robberies, with three of them occurring in Manhattan.

An anonymous social worker who worked with Crumbley in the juvenile delinquent system expressed their regret for not being able to do more to help the troubled teen.

The anonymous person told ABC7:

"I worked with him in juvie. I tried to help him get his life together. I tried. I failed him, I failed him."

As per New York authorities, before the homicide arrest, the last complaint against Crumbley had been made on October 27 of this year. Lawrence reported Crumbley for having had inappropriate relations with her, as she was 15, and hence, a minor at the time.

Lawrence also claimed that Crumbley had impregnated her, though this was later determined to be untrue. The Post reported that the complaint had been made one day after Crumbley's mother had thrown him out of their home.

According to Pix11, an anonymous neighbor told reporters that she was always concerned about Lawrence, as she and Crumbley were said to have argued often.

She said:

"I always had concerns about what was going on in that apartment."

However, the neighbor added that while frequent arguments took place in the Harlem residence, she never suspected Crumbley would be capable of Lawrence's murder.

"When I was woken up in the middle of night one time, I was concerned with what was going on because it definitely made me fearful for who was in the apartment."

According to Pix11, while Saniyah Lawrence was a resident of the neighborhood where she died, she was not a resident of the building.