Louisiana couple arrested in Texas, accused of torturing 15-year-old girl
A crash in Baytown led to the discovery of a 15-year-old girl who had been burned, shot and sexually abused by her mother and her mother's boyfriend, police said.
BAYTOWN, Texas — A crash in Baytown last month led to the rescue of an abused teen and the arrests of a couple from Louisiana.
An investigator said the 15-year-old girl's injuries were the worst she's seen in her career and authorities said they came at the hands of her mother and her mother's boyfriend.
Latonya Ann Harris, 40, and Terrence Washington, 41, were arrested and are facing several charges out of Terrebonne Parish in Louisiana.
What happened
On April 20 around 11 p.m., Washington was driving recklessly along I-10 when he crashed on the feeder road, according to authorities.
When Baytown police got to the scene, they said they found Washington in the driver's seat with a gun. He ultimately gave up the gun and was taken into custody.
Responding officers found the 15-year-old victim, who was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Her mother was also hospitalized due to her injuries from the crash. Another child in the vehicle was taken back to Louisiana by a family member.
Once the victim got to the hospital, doctors discovered the teen had been burned and shot in the face and chest, authorities said.
Interviews with Washington
When he was interviewed by Baytown police, Washington admitted to shooting the victim during a fight with Harris at their home in Thibodaux, Louisiana, authorities said.
They said he also admitted to sexually abusing the teen for several months and knowing about the victim's burn injuries, which had happened in February. He told them that Harris was treating the burns at their home and after the girl was shot, they left for Texas.
"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," a Baytown police statement said. "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."
Investigators said the other child who was in the car at the time of the crash in Baytown told them Harris poured rubbing alcohol over the teen and lit her on fire during the Mardi Gras season. The child also told investigators about the two times the teen had been shot.
Louisiana investigators searched the family's home, where they said they found the gun that was used to shoot the teen as well as blood evidence and "the strong odor of infection and decomposing flesh."
"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," Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet said. "I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have these extremely violent offenders in custody, and off of our streets."
Terrebonne investigators also interviewed Washington, who told them he shot the teen in the face at their Louisiana home the day before the crash in Texas.
Washington told them the victim was burned after Harris learned about the sexual abuse and blamed the teen for the encounters. He also said Harris refused to get medical treatment for the teen.
Couple facing charges
Washington is charged with two counts of attempted murder, cruelty to a juvenile, obstruction of justice, molestation of a juvenile, three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and five counts of rape. As of Thursday, he was being held in the Harris County Jail awaiting extradition to Louisiana.
On May 9, Harris was released from a Texas hospital and returned to Louisiana. She was brought in for questioning but refused to speak with detectives. She's charged with attempted murder, cruelty to a juvenile and child endangerment. She's being held at the Terrebonne Parish Criminal Justice Complex on a $1 million bond, authorities said.