Woman, Friend Charged With Starving 9-Year-Old Daughter
Thursday, August 03, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A woman and her roommate were charged with starving the woman's 9-year-old daughter, who weighed just 42 pounds when she was found, was locked up all day and was forced to wear a filthy diaper, authorities said.

Melissa Samoraj, 27, and Raymond LaFountain, 31, were arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated child abuse. The girl was so emaciated that her spine and ribcage were showing when state child welfare officials took her June 30, police said.

The girl also had her hands bound behind her, was locked in a bedroom all day and wore a diaper that went unchanged for hours, officials said. She told police it was punishment for bad behavior.

"It's a very disturbing case," police Detective Joe DeLuca said. "You see very few like this."

The girl now lives with her grandparents and has gained about 25 pounds in a month.

"She's doing well now," DeLuca said.

LaFountain's mother reported the girl's appearance after visiting the home, DeLuca said. It's not clear how long the alleged abuse had been going on, police said.


Samoraj and LaFountain were in a Pinellas County jail Thursday, each held on a $50,000 bond. DeLuca said they did not address the allegations when they were arrested Wednesday, and jail records did not indicate if they had lawyers.

LaFountain was originally described by police as Samoraj's live-in boyfriend, but the gender classification at the jail was changed from male to female following a routine strip search, Pinellas sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen said.

How sad..
I lived in St Pete for 23 yrs but those ppl do not sound like anyone I know..

Bastards

people do the sickest things.

That is disgusting and there is no excuse for what they did

yeah, this was on the local news here yesterday, fucking sick people in this world.

Yeah, but I can't adopt a child in that state.



M

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

A child would be fortunate to have a parent such as yourself.

Tis' ashame...

It's heart breaking.

Good Christ!

That sickens be beyond belief.

sag10 said:

Thank you so much!

I wonder if drugs had anything to do with this case. It usually does. People have sold children for crack.


M

I wish I could just turn invisible and behead every sick piece of shit that would do something like that to a kid.

i can't read these stories - just too much bad energy when i should be focusing on the good that can be done.

i didn't read beyond the first line

this world is bullshit is what is wrong

Anx said:

Too close to home for me- so sick of ppl sometimes!

part of their sentence should be to endure the same "punishment" they put upon the child.

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

I was gonna say... mf's are so worried about gay marriage & such when there are some seriously mentally ill mf's beating their spouse's asses & abusing their children - it's a goddamn free for all w/ these fuckups, where are the priorities? It's fucking NUTS

CHIC0 said:

This is exactly how I see it. I hate to say it but I really believe in CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT. It would have to be in the cases where it was 100% proven case. I know that's hard to prove but so be it.


M