Arizona Girl Beaten, Left Dead for Days in Apartment With Sister

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

PHOENIX — A 12-year-old girl was beaten with an electrical cord, and her parents left her dead body on the floor of her bedroom for days before they called 911, according to court documents released Tuesday.

Police arrested the girl's father, 34-year-old Jeffrey Duchane Jr., and stepmother, 25-year-old Reiko Troupe, after officers were called to the house on Saturday. Troupe was jailed on suspicion of first-degree murder and child abuse. Duchane was jailed on suspicion of child abuse.

According to court documents, Troupe told police that she didn't harm the girls and blamed Duchane for disciplining the children.

Police also found the girl's 9-year-old sister in the apartment when they arrived. Officers said the sister was "cowering in the shower with several bruises, burns and a broken arm," according to court documents.

The 9-year-old gave police a different account as to how her big sister died.

She told police that she saw Troupe make her sister go into the tub. She said Troupe poured hot water on her sister as punishment for not cleaning her room.

The 9-year-old said she heard her sister scream and get out of the tub. She saw her step-mom whip her sister with an extension cord. Troupe then pushed the 12-year-old against the wall and punched her stepdaughter in the face until she passed out.

Afterward, the 9-year-old said she put her hand on her sister's heart and did not feel anything, according to court documents.

The girl also said Troupe previously beat her and her sister.

Poll question:

Which of the following do you think would curtail such behavior in the future?

• Public lynchings on Pay-per-view?
• Public shootings on Pay-per-view?
• Public stoning on Pay-per-view?
• Public bare-fisted beatings on Pay-per-view?
• Do nothing. Let some dickwad lawyer spin this thing so these two walk?

Survey accurate to + or - the square root of 4,667,965,873,152,028