4th-December-2006
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Adoptive mother held on torture raps, Twins, 8, beaten, cut and burned | |
Quote: Twins, 8, beaten, cut and burned
Adoptive mother held on torture raps
Published: December 01. 2006 3:00AM
BY DAN CORTEZ
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The process to terminate the parental rights of the adoptive mother of two bruised and burned 8-year-old girls has begun as new details emerged Thursday of the abuse authorities say the twins endured at her hands.
The children are now in a foster care home, and Tamika S. Williams, 30, of Warren faces torture and child abuse charges. She is scheduled for a preliminary exam Tuesday in 37th District Court and could lose her parental rights in another hearing Dec. 15.
The girls told Child Protective Services that Williams tortured them for more than a year, according to a report contained in a juvenile court filing.
According to the report, Williams used them as ashtrays, stabbed them with glass and knives, burned them with cigarette lighters and beat them with exercise equipment at her Toepfer Road home. They also said she forced them to sleep on the floor without blankets, choked them with a belt and bound their arms and legs with rope.
In court filings, Williams said the twins harmed themselves and that she didn't notice the burns and bruises that investigators said covered the girls "from head to toe."
Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said Williams began beating the girls almost as soon as she got custody in early 2005, but the abuse wasn't discovered until two weeks ago, because the girls changed schools frequently.
"She's been moving every so often to stay ahead of the game," Smith said, adding that the girls are doing well now.
The twins told investigators that Williams and a woman they called their grandmother threatened to kill them if they reported the abuse. Nobody besides Williams has been charged in connection with the girls' injuries.
Williams was arrested Nov. 22 and could spend the rest of her life in prison if convicted of the torture charges. The child abuse charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison upon conviction.
Ronald Goldstein, who will serve as Williams' court-appointed attorney, said Thursday that he had not met with his client but expected to do so today.
Williams is being held in the Macomb County Jail with bond set at $1 million.
Contact DAN CORTEZ at 586-469-1827 or dcortez@freepress.com. | Click here for the original news article.
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