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Richmond mother arraigned
Police: Toxic cleaner poured on boy's genitals
By Bruce Gerstman, MEDIANEWS STAFF
Inside Bay Area 11/03/2006
 RICHMOND — A Richmond woman accused of
torturing her 8-year-old son for nearly a year leading up to his
death last week appeared in Superior Court on Thursday to hear the
charges against her.
Teresa Moses, 23, stood behind her
attorney as she listened to the judge read the felony charges of
torture and child endangerment causing great bodily injury.
Moses did not enter a plea. Contra
Costa County Superior Court Judge John Laettner set Nov. 17 for her
to return to court to plead to the charges and set her bail at $1.15
million.
Outside court, Moses' attorney,
Demetrius Costy, called her a caring mother who was trying to raise
a child with behavioral problems.
Police arrested Moses on Friday
after doctors at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Richmond
reported the death of her son, Raijon Daniels. The boy's body was
covered in bruises, chemical burns, rope marks and bed sores.
Investigators believe he drank household cleaner before he died.
Moses told police she poured toxic
cleaners on her son's genitals to stop him from urinating on
himself.
The district attorney's office is
waiting for toxicology test results before deciding whether to file
murder charges against Moses.
Police said Raijon lived in a bare
bedroom, with a locked window and an outside lock on the door. Moses
monitored him using a camera in his room, police said.
The county Child and Family
Services agency last year received three reports about alleged abuse
of the boy, but decided each allegation was unfounded.
Costy said Raijon's death has
devastated his client.
"This case is a tragedy," he said.
"My client is not a murderer. She is a beautiful, articulate single
mother of two, one of which is extremely emotionally disturbed. She
is extremely upset at the loss of her son."
Before the hearing, Moses'
grandmother, Alma Moses, said she saw Raijon and his 3-year-old
sister about two months ago, and both children appeared fine. She
said the news of the boy's death shocked her.
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