Ame Deal was just ten-years-old when she died of abuse at the hands of several relatives in July 2011. One of those relatives, her aunt, has been charged with abusing Ame and will be tried next month on those abuse charges.
Although Ammandea Stoltzmann is charged with abusing her niece, she is not charged in the death of the child. What she is accused of is scrubbing the child’s face with a wire brush, kicking her in the face and placing hot sauce in her niece’s mouth.
In all, six of Ame Deal’s relatives have been charged with child abuse and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against two of those relatives charged in the girl’s death. According to azfamily.com, all of the child’s relatives have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Ame died after being placed in a footlocker for misbehaving last summer. What did Ame do to warrant being locked in a footlocker in the middle of July? She took a Popsicle from a freezer.
According to investigators, at first those relatives in charge of caring for Ame stated the child’s death was an accident as Ame made a habit of hiding in the footlocker when playing hide and seek with other children. However, after police investigated the incident, the conclusion was reached that Ame’s death was not an accident and her death was ruled a homicide. Investigators found that confinement in a box was commonly employed when Ame misbehaved.
Those relatives accused of and arrested for abusing Ame are John and Samantha Allen; Cynthia Stoltzmann; Judith Deal; Ammandea Stoltzmann; and David Deal, her father. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for John and Samantha Allen, the two relatives who admitted placing Ame in and locking the footlocker so she could not escape on that hot July day.
