3 UNNAMED CHILDREN - 3, 5 and 8 yo (3/2014) - / Charged: Parents, domestic partners; Eraca Dawn Craig and Christian Jessica Deanda - Salinas CA

3 children found starving in home had 'hardly eaten for months'


Booking photos of Eraca Dawn Craig, left, Christian Jessica Deana. (Monterey County Sheriff's Department / March 21, 2014)

From a Times Staff Writer
March 21, 2014, 6:38 p.m.
Salinas police found three starving children, including one chained to the floor, of a home last month, officials said Friday.

"It was a particularly heinous case," Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller told the Monterey Herald, adding that the children had "hardly eaten for months."

The two boys and a girl were taken into protective custody, according to the Associated Press.

"It seems that the little girl was the major target of this abuse," Miller told the Herald.

Two adults, identified as Eraca Dawn Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deana, 44, were arrested.

Police continued to investigate how long the children had been held in the home.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-3-children-found-starving-in-home-had-hardly-eaten-for-months-20140321,0,205646.story


3 children starving, 1 chained to floor

SALINAS, Calif. (AP) — Three starving children — including one who was chained to the floor to prevent her from getting food — were found last month in the squalid home of a Northern California couple, authorities said.

All three — two boys and a girl — were taken into protective custody, and one was hospitalized, Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller said Friday.

Authorities discovered them in the Salinas, Calif., home on March 14 after two of the young people missed appointments, according to several published reports.

"It was a particularly heinous case," Miller told the Monterey Herald. The children had "hardly eaten for months."

The boys are 3 and 5 years old, and the girl is 8, authorities said, and they all exhibited bruises and signs of other physical as well as emotional abuse.

The girl, who appeared to have suffered the most extreme abuse, was chained to the floor to prevent her from getting any food, they said.

"It seems that the little girl was the major target of this abuse," Miller continued, adding that she looked "like a concentration camp victim."

The girl was in the hospital for about five days, he said, and seemed "traumatized."

There was evidence that she was may have been put in the closet as well as that she was sometimes shackled at the ankle and at other times by a collar around her neck, Miller said.

Eraca Dwan Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deana, 44, were both arrested at the scene on suspicion of felony child cruelty, false imprisonment and other charges.

The women, who are domestic partners, do not appear to have criminal records in Monterey County. They were both arraigned in Monterey County Court on Tuesday and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 28.

Authorities said the women seemed to be making preparations to leave before they were arrested.

Investigators found little food inside the home, which was cluttered and dirty, according to reports.

The girl and the older boy were adopted children, and the younger boy is the biological son of one of the women, Miller said.

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Information from: The Monterey County Herald, http://www.montereyherald.com

In case anyone wants to do a little sleuthing... Eraca Craig's username on the internet:

angell_by_day

Two California Women Starved Three Children And Chained One To The Floor



Eraca Dawn Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deanda, 44

By Dominic Kelly, Mon, March 24, 2014

Disturbing details are starting to emerge following the March 14 arrest of two California women accused of starving three children and chaining one to the floor.

Authorities arrived at the Salinas, California home to investigate accusations of child neglect, and once they got there, they were horrified to discover a three-year-old boy, a five-year-old boy, and an eight-year-old girl all being starved. The young girl was shackled to keep her from eating.

"The little girl was from time-to-time chained to the walls of the house and denied food," said Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller. "She was extremely emaciated. She's been described as someone who looks like she's been living in a concentration camp." Miller added that all three children had “hardly eaten for months” and that the girl was the “major target” of the abuse.

Eraca Dawn Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deanda, 44, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of felony child cruelty, false imprisonment, and other related charges. The women are reportedly domestic partners, and one of them is the biological mother of the three-year-old boy. The five-year-old boy and the girl were both adopted.

Both Craig and Deanda pleaded not guilty to the charges against them, and neither reportedly have a criminal record. Authorities say the two women were attempting to leave the area right before they were arrested.

Miller says that this case is one of the worst he has ever seen.

"When you've got over 30 years in the business, you've seen way too many of these types of things before," said Miller. "But this is, in terms of child abuse and neglect, this is toward the top."

"The fact that it appears [the girl] was actually chained to the wall to keep her from eating, those are the kinds of facts that tear at you," continued Miller. "That's the kind of thing that
differentiates this from most other types of abuse cases."

Craig and Deanda are both scheduled to appear in court on March 28, but in the meantime, they are being held on $50,000 bail at Monterey County Jail.


http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/two-california-women-starved-three-children-and-chained-one-floor-video

Salinas: Torture charge added in child starvation case

By Julia Reynolds, Monterey Herald

Posted:   04/26/2014 11:20:39 AM PDT

Updated:   04/26/2014 11:20:43 AM PDT




SALINAS - For the second time, new charges have been added to the prosecution of two Monterey County women accused of chaining an 8-year-old girl to a wall and denying her food.

A torture charge, which carries a possible seven-years-to-life sentence, was filed Wednesday against Eraca Dawn Craig, 31, and Christian Jessica Deanda, 44.

The pair already faced a felony child abuse count after their arrest on March 14.

Two misdemeanor child endangerment counts concerning two boys were later added, as well as a felony false imprisonment charge in connection with the girl.

Craig and Deanda faced up to six years and eight months on those charges, prosecutor Sarah Ma said.

Ma said an amended complaint filed this week added the felony torture count as well as an enhancement of causing great bodily injury to the felony child abuse charge, which could add an additional three years in prison.

The case began when sheriff's deputies were asked to check on the children's welfare at a house north of Salinas. They discovered the "emaciated" 8-year-old girl who, they said, had been chained to the wall at times to keep her from food.

Sheriff's officials said a 5-year-old boy and the 8-year-old girl found at the house in March are siblings, while a 3-year-old boy is the biological son of one of the arrested women. The two eldest children were under the legal guardianship of Deanda and Craig, according to county social workers


http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_25643889/salinas-torture-charge-added-child-starvation-case