New London, CT: Following last week’s assault on a 13-year-old girl in a nearby parking lot, police said on Monday that ten juveniles, including two relatives, had been apprehended.
Video footage shows the girl’s attackers trying to waterboard her while pushing her to the ground, as well as choking, spitting on, and sexually assaulting her, according to a police warrant from New London.
Authorities have charged two individuals, one of them is 32-year-old Idinah Muriel of New London with assault planning and observation and 29-year-old Keosha Muriel of West Haven with assault participation. Police added that both had ties to the girl, who is thirteen years old.
According to the warrant, Idinah Muriel confessed to wanting to shame the victim for being disrespectful and gave $50 to the minors present at the site of the assault so they could “beat” the victim. The victim, she claimed, was only embarrassed and not injured, according to the warrant.
But according to the authorities, the girl reported back pain and a head injury. “This is her life every day and ‘it is what it is,'” the youngster informed investigators, according to the warrant.
The warrant said that when the girl met with police, the state Department of Children and Families took possession of her because officers did not feel safe for her to return home.
Police said the attack took place at approximately 6 p.m. on April 29 in the Colman Street parking lot of O’Reilly Auto Parts.
School authorities alerted the police on April 30 after seeing footage of the attack becoming viral on social media.
The warrant said that officers reviewed the footage, which included an initial scene where Keosha Muriel tried to remove the child from a car as other minors watched and yanked her hair. The warrant further stated that the footage showed Keosha Muriel physically abusing the girl by using a phone charger cable.
Two minors forcibly removed the victim from the car and placed him on the pavement; Idinah Muriel and the other woman observed the incident, according to the warrant.
The warrant states that one of the minors pinned the girl down while the other rubbed their privates on the victim’s head. The warrant said that the juvenile who was holding the girl made sure she couldn’t breathe or move by sitting on her chest and placing their knee on her neck.
According to the warrant, the defendant, a juvenile, persisted in their assault by spitting on the victim while they held her down. According to the warrant, the second juvenile implicated proceeded to try waterboarding the girl by pouring water on her face. This reportedly caused the victim to scream and cry because she was unable to breathe.
Keosha and Idinah Muriel remained observant during that part of the attack, as indicated in the warrant.
The warrant states that there is another video showing the girl being physically assaulted in the backseat of a car as Idinah and Keosha Muriel occupy the front seats. Per the warrant, the video concludes with the vehicle driving away while the female inside is bound in a headlock.
The two ladies are facing charges of second-degree reckless endangerment, cruelty to individuals, and endangering a juvenile. Additionally, third-degree assault, first-degree unlawful restraint, and second-degree breach of peace were all charges against Keosha Muriel. The prosecution also brought conspiracy charges against Idinah Muriel.
They were both brought before New London’s state Superior Court on Monday, each jailed on $100,000 bond.