Murder of Ame Deal

[2] Neighbors claimed that Ame was often abused and reported seeing her forced to walk back and forth on the sidewalk, barefoot, in extremely hot Phoenix temperatures.At other times she was beaten with a paddle which they called the "Butt Buster", forced to eat hot sauce and dog feces, and crush aluminum cans whilst barefoot.[citation needed] David Deal, Ame's possible father, was reported living in the back of the family rental home in a tent with his two other children.[9] On July 12, 2011, police officers were called to Ame Deal's home, where she was found dead in her own urine and sweat within a small plastic footlocker that was placed in a hot garage.The family first told the police officers that Ame was playing hide-n-seek and locked herself in the footlocker the night before, after the adults went to sleep.Police suspected foul play since Ame was found very dirty with bruises on her left leg, since it was in forced contact with the trunk.After being interrogated for a while, Sammantha and John Allen confessed to locking Ame in the trunk, as a form of punishment, because she took a popsicle without permission.Judith Deal and Cynthia Stoltzmann were arrested for child abuse and kidnapping, since they both admitted that in the past they too, had locked Ame in the trunk.[5] David Martin Deal was not charged in the death of his daughter, but was sentenced on June 6, 2013, after pleading guilty to attempted child abuse.
Mugshots of Cynthia Stoltzmann, Judith Deal, John Allen and Sammantha Allen
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