Girl tells evil stepmum 'hope you die' after neck broken in series of cruel acts

08 November 2023 , 13:57

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Mayra Chavez was sentenced to nearly 15 years for torturing her 10-year-old stepdaughter and abusing three other children (Image: Orange County DA)

A girl told her wicked stepmother "I hope you die" after she broke her neck and rubbed habanero pepper in her eyes in a series of cruel acts.

Mayra Chavez, 35, of Anaheim, California, left the 10-year-old with injuries which included a bone sticking out of an unhealed sore and bruises from head to toe. A nurse told Orange County District Attorney's office it was the worst case of trauma and suspected child abuse she had ever seen.

Chavez was also convicted of abusing three other children in the home, including another step-daughter and two of her own children. She was also convicted last month of one felony count of torture, two felony counts of child abuse and endangerment, and one felony enhancement of causing great bodily injury.

The girl's father, Domingo Junior Flores, rushed the child to the hospital when she was unresponsive. (Orange County DA)

During the trial, details of the abuse the girl suffered were given including being forced to kneel on rice or tin cans with her hands and legs tied. Witnesses also said the 10-year-old girl was plunged face first into a bathtub full of ice while zip tied and had a habanero pepper rubbed in her eyes.

The 10-year-old read a victim impact statement to a courtroom wearing her favorite color, purple and she told her abuser "I hope you die". Further charges were also of abusing another stepdaughter and two of her own children. The jury also convicted her of assault of her 17-year-old son.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Some of the horrific injuries which the 10-year-old girl suffered (ABC7)

Before sentencing Chavez. Judge Scott Steiner read a lengthy written statement detailing the horrific abuse and calling the defendant a “bridge troll” and a “demon”

She was given seven years to life plus seven years, ten months for torturing her the 10-year-old and abusing the other kids. In August 2022, the girls father, Domingo Junior Flores, rushed the child to the hospital when she was unresponsive. The girl weighed just 50 pounds and was unresponsive when she was rushed to Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange by her father in August 2022, who told police and medical professionals the little girl had harmed herself and had fallen down the stairs.

The torture of children was 'normalized' (ABC7)

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said: "This methodical and diabolical torture of children was normalized in this household to the point these children thought it was their fault that they were being abused. The system failed this little girl.

"The system failed her siblings. We will get to the bottom of how this happened and what can be done to prevent another child from suffering the fate of what these children suffered at the hands of the very people who were supposed to protect them. She underwent 17 surgeries for her knees, couldn't walk for nine months. When she was admitted she weighed 90 pounds. The girl's mother said in a victim statement: "We sleep in soft beds with fluffy blankets surrounded by more pillows than we can count. We take warm baths – not baths filled with ice.

The girl's face was badly injured

Mayra Chavez's mugshot (Orange County DA)

'We throw bath bombs. We frost cupcakes and have movie nights. We play in our backyard whenever we want to – and sit in the warmth of the sun. We're making up for lost time. They not only survived; they triumphed." After seeing her abused daughter's body in hospital she added: "She was the personification of a whisper."

Graeme Murray