Kin rage at tot-kill susp

THE FAMILY of a murdered 3-year-old Queens girl erupted in the courtroom Wednesday when a defense lawyer requested protective custody for the suspect.

“Feed him to the wolves!” a male relative of Bella Edwards (top) hollered, referring to accused killer Mark Jenkins (bottom).

“The monster!” screamed a woman sitting nearby. “She was 3 years old!”

Authorities believe little Bella bled to death after Jenkins, 32, viciously beat her inside his car Monday afternoon.

Bella’s family gasped and made retching noises as the prosecutor described the girl’s gruesome injuries.

“It’s really hard to imagine a more violent and horrifying scene,” said Assistant District Attorney Leigh Bishop.

“Parts of her abdominal area were literally ripped apart.”

Bishop said all that was left of Bella was “blood and other parts.”

“It’s an unbelievably violent act to commit against a 3-year-old child,” the prosecutor added.

The judge ordered Jenkins, an ex-con with four previous arrests, held without bail.

A surveillance camera captured the suspect walking out of the family’s Beach 105th St. apartment with Bella and his 3-month-old son about 2:30 p.m., police said.

When they returned about two hours later, “she appeared to be in some kind of distress,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.

“We believe (the attack) happened sometime in that car,” Boyce added. “She was struck about the abdomen. Further testing needs to be done, but we believe she bled to death.”

Bella’s mother, Shamika Gonzalez, left to go to a doctor’s appointment about 7:30 a.m. Monday, police said.

When she returned at about 6 p.m., she found Bella unconscious, and lying in urine in the bed she shares with Jenkins and immediately called 911. Medics rushed Bella from the family’s apartment near Shore Front Parkway to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where she died, police said.

Jenkins “almost immediately” requested a lawyer when he was brought in for questioning, Boyce said.

He was the only adult with Bella and the infant for most of the day, police said.

Jenkins served five years in prison on an attempted murder conviction before he was paroled in 2011, officials said.

Boyce said cops were called to the Beach 105th St. address twice before Bella’s death, once in June and once on Jan. 28, to quell fights between Jenkins and Gonzalez. No arrests were made. “They were arguments and settled through mediation,” Boyce said.

There was no evidence Jenkins had been violent to either Gonzalez or his previous girlfriend since his release from prison.

“She was very surprised when this happened,” Boyce said.

Tests were still being performed to see if Bella had been sexually abused, officials said.