A SIX-YEAR-OLD girl was sent to bed with life-threatening burns to 25 per cent of her body after a Voodoo ritual, a New York court has heard.
Prosecutors say the girl’s mother, Marie Lauradin, made her daughter stand naked in a ring of fire while she poured a flammable liquid over her body.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the girl was “engulfed in flames” intended to drive evil spirits out of her body.
The ritual was a Haitian Voodoo ritual known as ‘Loa’, which involved spraying a circle of rum on the floor around the girl, as well as on her head, and lighting it.
The fire was put out with water and Ms Lauradin and the girl’s grandmother put her to bed.
She was only taken to hospital a day later after a relative begged her mother to do so, the court was told.
She suffered first- and third-degree burns to her face, legs and torso and was put into a coma for treatment. She has since been placed in foster care.
Her mother denies the allegations and is facing assault and child endangerment charges.
She faces seven years in jail if convicted.
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