November 1, 2006
(AP) RICHMOND An
8-year-old Richmond boy who lived locked inside a barely
furnished bedroom and was allegedly tortured to death by his
mother ran away at least twice and was reported to child
protective services at least five times, authorities said.
Teresa Marie Moses, 23, remained in jail Wednesday on suspicion
of torture and child abuse. Her court arraignment was set for
Thursday.
The boy, Raijon Daniels, died Friday after his mother called
paramedics. While no cause of death has yet been determined,
police say he ingested pine scented cleaning fluid and the smell
in the house was so strong it stung investigators' eyes.
Raijon was kept in a bedroom that locked from the outside. Duct
tape secured the sheets and blankets to his bed and his window
was locked. The only other furniture in the room was a table
where a camera for a baby monitor sat so his mother could watch
him, police said.
Raijon was allowed to leave only to use the bathroom and to
attend church on Sundays, according to Richmond police Sgt.
Mitch Piexoto.
Lynn Yaney, a spokeswoman for Contra Costa County's Children and
Family Services, said she couldn't talk about the specifics of
Raijon's case because of privacy concerns about the mother and
the sister. The agency is now investigating its handling of the
case.
"It is frustrating for us when we can't talk," she said. "We
went into this business because we care about kids. ... When
something bad happens, we're just anguished."
Police are also investigating a babysitter who spent the days
with the children while their mother worked as a United Parcel
Service supervisor in Richmond.
Raijon had bedsores, bruises in various stages of healing,
ligature marks on his hands and feet from where he'd been tied
up and chemical burns from the waist down, according to police.
Piexoto said authorities suspect Raijon had been abused for at
least a year. His face wasn't new to police.
Last July, a customer at McDonald's called police after noticing
the boy playing unsupervised for at least two hours. Raijon told
officers he ran away because his babysitter handcuffed him. The
officer took him home and reported the incident to Children and
Family Services; a social worker decided no further
investigation was needed.
Then on Nov. 23, Raijon jumped out a window of his second-floor
apartment. Police found him at a mall, nearly 10 miles away. He
was caught stealing toys and said he didn't have any at home,
Piexoto said.
"He looked like a really decent kid," he said, adding they
returned the boy to his home and "got a bad feeling" about the
conditions. At the time, his mostly bare room had a bed and a
locked fish tank.
Again, police reported the incident to the county agency and
again, a social worker decided no further investigation was
required. Piexoto said the department referred Raijon's case to
the county at least five times with no action.
An official at King Elementary School grew concerned about
Raijon's nutrition and behavior and reported him to the county.
His mother had asked the school to stop feeding Raijon cafeteria
food. She explained she had stopped giving him junk food and
that led him to "go to school begging, lying and
over-exaggerating the hunger," according to a letter Moses sent
the school on Nov. 7, 2005 and obtained by the Contra Costa
Times.
"My son is very smart, intelligent, crafty and sneaky when need
be and because of the change of attention that he was receiving
he would go to any lengths to get that unwarranted attention
from whomever he could victimize," Moses wrote.
Authorities said they were unsure of Moses' motive for treating
Raijon differently than her 3-year-old daughter.
Piexoto said the rest of the two-bedroom apartment, including
the girl's room, was clean and well-kept.
"Normal furniture, a little area for the girl to play with her
toys," he said. "Everything was pretty normal."
