Friday, June 19, 2009

Mom Arrested After Performing Voodoo Fire On Daughter

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NEW YORK (WPIX) - A Queen's mom is accused of setting her six-year-old daughter on fire in a bizarre voodoo ritual that left the girl severely burned, authorities said.

Marie Lauradin, 29, a Haitian immigrant, apparently ignored little Frantzcia Saintil's screams as flames engulfed her body during the Feb 4. ritual, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Frantizcia's grandmother, 70-year-old Sylvenie Thessier, reportedly came to her aide and extinguished the flames.

Instead of taking Frantzcia to the hospital, prosecutors say the pair, instead, sent the girl to bed, where she remained for a day before relatives begged them to take the girl to the hospital.

According to court papers, when Lauradin finally sought medical assistance for her daughter, doctors determined Frantzcia had suffered second and third-degree burns covering 25% of her body, including her face torso and legs.

Lauradin, who has been in the U.S for less than a year, was charged in Queens Criminal Court with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years behind bars.

According to police, Lauradin sprayed a circle of rum on the floor around her daughter and lit it on fire. She then poured some alcohol on the girl's head and pushed her into the ring of flames.

Initially, Lauradin reportedly told police she was boiling rice in a pot and accidentally spilled it on her daughter.

Her attorney Jeff Cohen said she is completely innocent of the allegations.

"This is my client's only child," Cohen told the New York Daily News. "My client would not hurt her."

Thessier is facing charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. She faces up to seven years in jail.

2 comments:

long island gal said...

This is very strange. People are already thinking a lot of things to overcome their fears and problems. However, this situation is very cruel and weird. How could a mother and a grandmother possibly do this? They must have mental illnessor they are just too attached to their beliefs that they don't even care about the people around them.

long island gal said...

This is very strange. People are already thinking a lot of things to overcome their fears and problems. However, this situation is very cruel and weird. How could a mother and a grandmother possibly do this? They must have some mental illness or they are just too attached to their beliefs that they don’t even care about the people around them.