at 23:41 on June 18, 2009, EDT.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - A New York City woman has been accused of burning her 6-year-old daughter during a voodoo ritual and then ignoring her cries for help and sending her to bed.

Prosecutors say Marie Lauradin poured a flammable liquid over her daughter during a Haitian practice known as Loa and made her stand naked in a ring of fire, engulfing her in flames.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown says Lauradin and the girl's grandmother washed her and put her to bed despite life-threatening burns over 25 per cent of her body. He says another relative found her the next day.

Lauradin was ordered held on $50,000 bail at Thursday's arraignment on assault and child endangerment charges related to the Feb. 4 incident. Defence attorney Jeff Cohen says she denies the allegations.

The grandmother faces a later arraignment.

The girl went into foster care.


©The Canadian Press, 2009


This is beyond disgusting

That child will need a lot of counselling for the trauma she went through

This is why I believe that ANY religious ritual or belief that harms a child or puts a child in danger is ludicrous and the parents or adults should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

An adult wants to soak his or herself in lighter fluid and stand in a ring of fire? Have at it! An adult wants to drink purple kool-aid? Start to guzzlin'!! When you add your helpless, innocent child into the equation...

So very sad . That poor girl. And that story also makes me think of someone I know .

noimageatall said:

Agreed.

Setting fire to your child in the name of religion is an extreme obviously, but what's the feeling on things such as circumcision? In the same ball-park?

Serious said:

This is awful

Aelis said:

Thank you !

It truly is .

Who and/or what does she have the nerve to proclaim is responsible for that?

"It wasn't me!" ain't good enough!

Poor baby.

stupid

the family is probably gonna say, the kid didn't have a enough faith.

That is awful and disgusting and just sad knowing that child had to experience that kind of abuse.

That's one of the first stories on the news here in NYC this morning. This is totally sick and the mom and grandma need to get burnt up so that they can get a dose of their own medicine. And all in the name of God or whatever? Hell no, that's disgusting.

mcmeekle said:

Yep.

Ok, I had to stop reading at "ignored her cries and sent her to bed"

I don't care what your religion is you know what's right and wrong....she let her daughter burn and ignored her cries when she was in pain.

Wht
[Edited 6/19/09 9:59am]

I don't know I think burning to death is one of the most gruesome deaths ever, next to getting crushed to death.

peacenlovealways said:

How about being eaten alive?
Sharks, gators, crocs, tigers, lions, kamoto dragons, bears etc.?

Very sad!

dseann said:

That too.

sick of these primitive mofos inflicting their crazy psycho magic on kids.

dseann said:

And refusing your child a blood transfusion in a life-threatening situation too for that matter.

That is some whacky shit too.

noimageatall said:

I'd add to that list, an adult wants to deny themselves a blood transfusion...

mcmeekle said:

Not in the same ball park but IMO there's no good reason to do it.

So um...why did she do this?

DesireeNevermind said:

during a Haitian practice known as Loa

I really couldn't tell you what this is, though that's apparently the reason right there.

meow85 said:

okay been googling it. so LOA is basically witchcraft IMO.

DesireeNevermind said:

Isn't it all?

Marrk said:

yep!