This Is Such A Disturbing Story!
By: Tommy “Tj” Sotomayor

‘Heinous, gruesome, horrific;’ Couple accused of sexually abusing, burning and shooting 15-year-old girl

TERREBONNE PARISH, La. (WVUE) – A Thibodaux couple has been arrested in connection with an investigation into the abuse, torture, and attempted murder of a 15-year-old girl.

Sheriff Tim Soignet says the girl was found badly burned, shot multiple times, and “clinging to life,” after a vehicle crashed in Baytown, Texas on April 20 around 11 p.m.

Authorities in Baytown received calls of the vehicle driving recklessly on I-10 East before crashing on a service road.

Latonya Harris, 40, and her boyfriend, 41-year-old Terrence Washington, who was driving the car, were taken into custody. The victim was taken to a hospital and another 10-year-old child was taken into custody.

Soignet called burns to the girl’s upper body “gruesome.” An investigator in Baytown described her injuries, which included gunshot wounds to the chest and face, as the “worst she has seen in her entire career.” Soignet says the girl suffered third and fourth degree burns to 30% of her body.

During an interview, Washington reportedly admitted to sexually abusing the victim for “numerous months.” He also reportedly admitted to shooting the victim during an argument with Harris at their home in Thibodaux. He says he was holding a gun in his hand and it went off, striking the victim in the face.

Soignet says Washington initially told detectives he was responsible for burning the girl in February of 2024, which the couple was treating at home.

Soignet says after shooting the girl, the couple and the victim left for Texas with another 10-year-old girl child in the car. After the crash and the arrests, the minor was taken home to Louisiana by a family member.

During an interview with Special Victims Unit detectives, the 10-year-old said she woke up one night during the Mardi Gras season to the sight of the victim’s body being on fire. She reportedly described Harris standing over the victim’s bed with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a lighter. Detectives also learned of “gruesome” details of the victim being shot on two separate occasions within the home, which went untreated as the family traveled to Texas.

A search warrant was issued for the family’s home in the 400 block of West Park Avenue in Thibodaux. Detectives reportedly found evidence of a shooting, blood, and “the strong odor of infection and decomposing flesh.”

In a second interview with Washington, he reportedly backtracked and told detectives that Harris blamed the 15-year-old for the sexual abuse, set the girl on fire while he was at work, and refused to seek medical treatment.

“I’d say they’re pure evil,” Sheriff Soignet said. “Regardless of what’s going on mentally, they know the difference between right and wrong.”

Harris refused to speak with detectives after being released from a Texas hospital and taken into custody in Terrebonne Parish. She was booked for attempted first-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, and domestic abuse battery child endangerment. She is being held on a $1 million bond.

“Maybe that wreck was what brought this to light,” Sheriff Soignet said. “Might’ve been a different outcome.”

District Attorney Joseph Waitz says the photos are “shocking to the conscious,” and that even putting the couple in jail for the rest of their lives may not heal the mental and physical scars of the victim.

“Will we ever get justice for this person? I don’t think that we can. We will put them away, but whether or not that will be true justice? Is there true closure here? I don’t think there can be,” he said in a press conference.

Washington was booked for two counts of attempted first-degree murder, second-degree cruelty to a juvenile, obstruction of justice, molestation of a juvenile, three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, and five counts of second-degree rape. Washington remains in the Harris County Detention Center on charges connected to crime in Texas. He will later be remanded to the custody of Terrebonne Parish authorities.

Fox 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti said this should be a pretty straightforward prosecution.

“He’s confessed to it. She’s basically given herself up to this thing. This is not going to be a hard prosecution,” said Raspanti. “Sometimes you have to learn in life that there are really evil people in this world and that’s what it looks like these folks are if these allegations are true. I think these are the people who should not ever be allowed to leave jail.”

He told Fox 8 Washington will likely be extradited to Terrebonne Parish.

“They face decades in prison… if ever a judge is going to give you consecutive time, this could very well be the time you’re going to see that happen,” Raspanti said.

Soignet says the investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are not known at this time.

“This is the type of case that is not only difficult to deal with the circumstances, but hard to imagine the level of violence and evil that can occur at the hands of a human being. I can’t begin to express how grateful I am to have these extremely violent offenders in custody, and off of our streets,” Soignet said in a statement. “Our Detectives have worked tirelessly since learning of the incident, in hopes of protecting an innocent young lady from further torture and abuse. Unfortunately, this investigation doesn’t stop with the arrest process. Our Detectives will continue to investigate this very complex case, to ensure that these violators remain jailed for a very long time.”

“Anytime a child suffers abuse at the hands of a family member or household member, it is both tragic and incomprehensible. When the very people whom a child should be able to trust for protection and love abuse them, it is a crime with long-lasting effects,” Baytown Police Chief John Stringer said in a statement. “The severe abuse and torture of a 15-year-old girl by members of her own family is a horrific act that has shaken us all. We wish both physical and psychological healing for the victim of this horrific crime.”