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The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office held a news conference Thursday afternoon to discuss arrests made in a case where a 15-year-old girl was allegedly burned by her mother, raped and shot by her mother’s boyfriend. Soignet says after shooting the girl, the couple and the victim left for Texas with 10-year-old girl child in the car, the sister of the victim. The crimes were discovered during a traffic-related investigation by the Baytown Police Department, in Texas.
TPSO released the horrific news on Wednesday, announcing that Terrence Washington and LaTonya Harris were arrested in connection with the investigation. Harris was arrested for charges of Attempted First Degree Murder, Second-Degree cruelty to a juvenile, and Domestic Abuse Battery Child Endangerment. Harris was transported to the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex where she remains jailed on a $1,000,000.00 bond by local judges. Washington will be charged with 2 counts of Attempted 1st Degree Murder, Second-Degree Cruelty to a juvenile, Obstruction of Justice, Molestation of a juvenile, 3 counts of Indecent Behavior with a juvenile, and 5 counts of 2nd Degree Rape. Washington will later be remanded to the custody of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office, but he currently remains jailed at the Harris County Detention Center on charges connected to crimes in Texas without bond.
During an interview, Washington reportedly admitted to sexually abusing the victim for “numerous months.” He also reportedly admitted to shooting the victim during an argument with Harris at their home in Thibodaux. He says he was holding a gun in his hand and it went off, striking the victim in the face.
The victim was found with two gun shot wounds to her chest and face. The gun shots were from two separate incidents, and had gone untreated.
Soignet says Washington initially told detectives he was responsible for burning the girl in February of 2024, which the couple was treating at home. However, during an interview with Special Victims Unit detectives, the 10-year-old said she woke up one night during the Mardi Gras season to the sight of the victim’s body being on fire. She reportedly described Harris standing over the victim’s bed with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a lighter. Soignet called burns to the girl’s upper body “gruesome, saying the girl suffered third and fourth degree burns to 30 percent of her body.
“I’d say they’re pure evil,” Sheriff Soignet said. “Regardless of what’s going on mentally, they know the difference between right and wrong.”
District Attorney Joseph Waitz says the photos are “shocking to the conscious,” and that even putting the couple in jail for the rest of their lives may not heal the mental and physical scars of the victim.
“Will we ever get justice for this person? I don’t think that we can. We will put them away, but whether or not that will be true justice? Is there true closure here? I don’t think there can be,” said Waitz.
“This is the type of case that is not only difficult to deal with the circumstances, but hard to imagine the level of violence and evil that can occur at the hands of a human being. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have these extremely violent offenders in custody, and off of our streets,” Soignet said in a statement. “Our Detectives have worked tirelessly since learning of the incident, in hopes of protecting an innocent young lady from further torture and abuse. Unfortunately, this investigation doesn’t stop with the arrest process. Our Detectives will continue to investigate this very complex case, to ensure that these violators remain jailed for a very long time.”
“Anytime a child suffers abuse at the hands of a family member or household member, it is both tragic and incomprehensible. When the very people whom a child should be able to trust for protection and love abuse them, it is a crime with long-lasting effects,” Baytown Police Chief John Stringer said in a statement. “The severe abuse and torture of a 15-year-old girl by members of her own family is a horrific act that has shaken us all. We wish both physical and psychological healing for the victim of this horrific crime.”
Harris and Washington are scheduled for arraignment on June 24, 2024 in Terrebonne Parish.
The entire press conference can be viewed here, courtesy of HTV:
