Girl who poured boiling water on sleeping 11-year-old tried to kill herself after 'prank'

The 12-year-old girl behind the boiling water attack on Jamoneisha Merritt,11 tried to kill herself over the incident, her mother told the Daily News.

“My daughter tried to stab herself with a knife,” said mom Shernett Panton, 34, on Thursday. “It was a prank — not a good prank. But after she saw what she did to (Jamoneisha) was really wrong, she tried to kill herself.”

The burned girl’s mother allegedly choked 12-year-old Aniya Grant Stuart over the incident, and the angry parent appeared Thursday morning spewing threats outside the Panton apartment.

“I’m going to cut your face, you f---ing b----!” Ebony Merritt screamed at Panton. “I’m going to burn your f---ing house down! You let this happen to my daughter!”

According to Panton, the girl she knew as Jamoni was a friend of her daughter Aniya and basically moved into their apartment about a month ago.

“They always prank each other,” said Panton. “My daughter was sleeping and Jamoni poured cold water on Aniya. My daughter was like, ‘OK, if you’re gonna do a prank on me, I’m gonna prank you back.’
“But my daughter — I don’t know what she was thinking — boiled hot water and poured it on Jamoni’s face.”

Aniya was under a suicide watch at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center after trying to stab herself with a knife, according to her mom.

“What she did was really wrong, but it’s too much right now,” said Panton, 34. “My daughter is 12. Everybody makes mistakes.”