AME LYNN DEAL - 10 yo (8/2011) - Phoenix AZ

Family abused 10-year-old Ame Deal before locking her in footlocker, where she died: prosecutors

Thursday, August 18th 2011, 10:04 AM

Ame Deal, 10, suffocated after being locked inside a trunk by her cousins, authorities say.




A 10-year-old girl suffocated after she was padlocked in a
footlocker for stealing a Popsicle, authorities said, and now her
cousins are on trial for killing her.

John and Samantha Allen, both 23, face first-degree murder and conspiracy charges in the death of Ame Deal as well as several counts of child abuse, prosecutors said.

The pair appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

"This child died at the hands of those who were supposed to love and care for her," Sgt. Trent Crump, a spokesman for the Phoenix police, told KTLA 5 News in Los Angles. "This case has turned the stomachs of some of most seasoned detectives."

The Allens claim that the young girl died after a game of hide-and-seek went horribly wrong.

From left to right: John Allen, 23; Cynthia Stoltzmann, 44; Judith Deal, 72; and Samantha Allen, 23.
Investigators, however, said the Allens abused Ame, then locked her in the box.

The 4-foot-2 girl was made to do jumping jacks, run in circles and other
exercise for over an hour before she was locked in the footlocker, which
meaured 3 feet by 14 inches by 1 foot, KTLA 5 News reported.
The girl was found dead the next morning.

Crump told KTLA 5 News the girl routinely slept in the shower with no pillow or cover after having wet her bed.

Ame's 72-year-old grandmother, Judith Deal, and aunt and legal guardian, Cynthia Stolzman, 44, also face charges of felony child abuse. They, too, pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday.

The Allens are in custody on a $1 million cash bond, The Associated Press reported. Stoltzmann and Judith Deal are being held on a $500,000 cash bond.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/08/18/2011-08-18_family_abused_10yearold_ame_deal_before_locking_her_in_footlocker_where_she_died.html#ixzz1VRKXbcNe

Arizona prosecutors said on Monday they will seek the death penalty
against a couple accused of killing their 10-year-old cousin by locking
the girl in a storage bin as punishment for taking a popsicle without
permission.

John and Samantha Allen, both 23, have
pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit child
abuse and multiple counts of felony child abuse stemming from the July
12 suffocation death of 10-year-old Ame Deal at her Phoenix home.







The Allens, who are married,
remain in custody on $1 million bond each. The wife's attorney declined
comment on Monday. The husband's lawyer could not immediately be
reached.

Ame's body was found inside a hinged
plastic container at the home in what family members initially said was a
hide-and-seek game gone terribly wrong. But authorities said that story
quickly unraveled as police investigators discovered that her relatives
had lied to cover up their actions.

Police said
the Allens, who had been left in charge of the girl, forced her to
perform intense physical exercise as discipline for stealing the frozen
treat from the freezer, then ordered her to retrieve the storage bin and
climb into it. They said Samantha Allen watched as her husband locked
the girl in the box, and the couple then fell asleep.

Ame's lifeless body was found in the box the following morning.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said in a court
filing that the alleged crimes warrant the death penalty considering the
young age of the victim and that the murder was committed in an
"especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner."

Montgomery declined further comment through a spokesman because the case is ongoing.

The girl's aunt and legal guardian, Cynthia Stoltzmann,
who is Samantha Allen's mother, also has been charged with multiple
counts of child abuse in the case, along with the child's grandmother,
Judith Deal, 73. Both women have pleaded not guilty and remain held on
$500,000 bond each.

Police have said that neither Deal nor Stoltzmann was present at the time Ame was locked in the box.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-crime-child-arizonatre80n00x-20120123,0,3039948.story

A fifth person has been arrested on allegations of child abuse in connection with the death of a young Phoenix girl last summer.
Phoenix police say 24-year-old Ammandea Joann Stoltzmann was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of abusing 10-year-old Ame Deal.

Deal was found dead in July after being padlocked in a footlocker at a South Phoenix home.

Police say Stoltzmann's arrest was not directly related to Deal's death but for a variety of other alleged instances of child abuse that involved the girl.

investigators believe Stoltzmann used a wire brush to scrape the girl's face, deliberately tortured the child with hot sauce and kicked her in the face.

Police previously arrested four members of Deal's family on suspicion of child abuse and murder.

http://www.kvoa.com/news/5th-person-arrested-in-death-of-young-phoenix-girl/

Good grief. Is this crazy family related to the one that just killed their granddaughter cause she ate a candy bar without permission--the poor little girl they made run for hours until she died from exhaustion? What a bunch of lunatics. I hope they all get life in prison. The torture this poor little girl must have gone through is unimaginable.

Such an innocent little thing, sneaking a popcycle or candy bar. I sure did my fair share of that.

These nut cases must have really enjoyed the torture inflicted on both of those little girls Babyj. I can't understand why these people, if they can't love their children don't just give them up for adoption.

If they don't want to lose their food stamps they could at least not torture and murder these children. Now they have lost their food stamps and I hope and pray, their freedom for life.

Evil.