Avril Elfi from OAN
12:28 PM – Thursday, May 23, 2024
A Louisiana couple who attempted to flee to Texas have been arrested after allegedly raping, shooting and setting fire to a 15-year-old girl.
advertisement
Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soigner reported that 40-year-old LaTonya Ann Harris and 41-year-old Terrence Washington were taken into custody for a series of violent and gruesome crimes that were uncovered by police during a car crash.
The sheriff’s office made the announcement on April 21st.stthey received information about a 15-year-old girl whose body was found severely burned and shot multiple times after a car accident in Baytown, Texas.
Authorities said the young victim was found critically injured by her mother, Harris, and her mother’s boyfriend, Washington.
Baytown police confirmed that both Harris and Washington were taken into custody in connection with the incident and the discovery of the 15-year-old victim.
Officials say they received a complaint about a vehicle that was driving “carelessly” on Interstate 10 east and quickly crashed on a frontage road. It was not reported whether the vehicle collided with another vehicle or the median, or what type of vehicle it was.
When officers arrived, they found a gun on the driver’s seat and Washington was immediately taken into custody.
Along with Harris, who was seriously injured in the crash, the 15-year-old victim was also immediately taken to hospital with serious injuries. An examination of her revealed extensive burns to the 15-year-old’s upper body, and gunshot wounds to her face and chest.
One investigator said the wounds were among the worst he had ever seen on the victim, and hospital staff said it was a miracle she was still alive.
Baytown police reported that after interrogating him, Washington ultimately admitted to sexually abusing the girl over a period of “several months” and also admitted to shooting the victim during an argument at his home in Thibodaux, Louisiana. did. He went on to explain that the girl’s mother, Ms. Harris, was tending to her daughter’s wounds at her home after setting her daughter on fire in February 2024. In addition to the 15-year-old girl, the couple soon left Louisiana for Texas. Don’t get caught in their abusive behavior.
The 15-year-old girl told authorities she began feeling hot during Mardi Gras season and soon woke up to find her clothes on fire and her mother standing by her bed with a “bottle of rubbing alcohol and a lighter.”
For several months, the child had not received any medical care because the couple feared they would be arrested for a crime if they took her to hospital.
Authorities searched the family’s residence and found evidence of a gunshot and blood stains inside the home. According to Washington, Harris set her 15-year-old daughter on fire after learning of her boyfriend’s sexual abuse. Shockingly, she claimed that his sexual behavior was her daughter’s fault.
Harris was taken into custody upon her return to Terroborn Parish after finally being released from a Texas hospital. She was charged with attempted first-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and endangering the welfare of a child by domestic violence.
The mother was taken to the Terroborn Parish Criminal Justice Complex and is currently being held on $1 million bail.
Washington, meanwhile, has been charged with multiple offenses, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree rape, sexual abuse of a minor, obstruction of justice and three counts of lewd acts with a minor. He is being held in the Harris County Detention Center on charges related to the Texas crimes, but will eventually be transferred to the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation is currently ongoing.
Stay informed! Receive the latest news directly to your email for free. Please register here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
Please share this post!
