RICHMOND
Mother accused of torture and child endangerment
Murder charge will depend on results of toxicology tests
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, November 2, 2006
A Richmond woman will appear in court today on felony
charges of torture and child endangerment in the death
of her 8-year-old son in a case that has raised
questions about whether social workers did enough to
protect him.
Contra Costa County prosecutors filed the charges
Wednesday against Teresa Marie Moses, 23, in connection
with Friday's death of Raijon Daniels, who police say
lived in a locked bedroom outfitted with a surveillance
camera and an alarm that notified his mother when he got
off the bed.
Prosecutors are awaiting the results of toxicology tests
from the coroner before determining whether to file a
murder charge against Moses. Richmond police said the
boy had traces of vomit on his face and may have died
from swallowing a pine-scented household cleaner.
The torture charge carries a mandatory life sentence if
Moses is convicted. The complaint accuses her of causing
"cruel or extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of
revenge, extortion, persuasion, or for any sadistic
purpose."
She was charged also with child endangerment under
circumstances or conditions likely to cause great bodily
injury or death, along with a separate enhancement
accusing her of causing great bodily injury.
The complaint accuses Moses of having continually abused
Raijon from Nov. 24, 2005 -- the day after he ran away
from home by jumping out a second-story window of his
apartment -- until the day of his death.
"I think the charges are warranted because there's
evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she
was abusing this child," said Senior Deputy District
Attorney Dara Cashman, who prosecutes child-abuse cases.
Cashman said Moses applied an "irritating substance" to
Raijon at one point, justifying the torture charge. The
prosecutor declined to elaborate, but Richmond police
have said that Moses admitted to pouring a caustic
chemical on her son's genitals.
Moses told police she thought that pouring something
that looked like urine on her son would teach him not to
urinate on himself, police said.
Police and paramedics found Raijon unresponsive in his
bedroom on the 700 block of South 40th Street at about
5:15 p.m. Friday. He was covered with chemical and rope
burns, sores and other injuries on all parts of his
body, authorities said.
Moses, who works as a United Parcel Service supervisor
in Richmond, told police she had disciplined her son for
what she perceived to be misbehavior. Moses gave him
food mixed in a blender, police said.
"I think that the cops kind of grossly overreached, and
I think it's kind of a shame the way they've
disseminated so much information, not all of which is
true," her attorney, Demetrius Costy of Oakland, said
Wednesday. "I think that she's a mother who was doing
everything she could with a child that was extremely
difficult, and I think the facts ultimately will bear
that out."
Since 2005, Contra Costa County child-welfare workers
had been contacted at least three times to check on
Raijon's welfare, authorities said. Lynn Yaney,
spokeswoman for the county's employment and human
services agency, said she couldn't comment on the
specifics of the case because of confidentiality rules.
The state Department of Social Services has received a
one-page questionnaire from Contra Costa County
reporting the child's death and is reviewing the case,
said spokesman Michael Weston.
Community members gathered outside Raijon's apartment
building Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil.
Raijon's family has established a trust fund to cover
his funeral expenses. Contributions can be sent to the
Raijon Daniels Trust Fund, People's Community
Partnership Federal Credit Union, 1432 Seventh St.,
Oakland, CA 94607, account number 2212.
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