A younger North Carolina lady was doused in gasoline and set on hearth by a sick suspect who then fled — leaving her heartbroken mom questioning, “How could they do this to my baby?”
Ashanti Downey, 20, was rushed to the emergency room the night time of Dec. 16 with second-and third-degree burns down the proper facet of her physique, in accordance with WRAL Information in Raleigh-Durham.
Staffers at Central Carolina Hospital in Sanford referred to as the Harnett County Sheriff’s Workplace at about 7 p.m. to report the horrific act, which occurred as Downey walked alongside Freeway 27 towards a Greenback Normal in the identical city.
That’s when an unidentified man got here up behind her, dumped gasoline throughout her and lit a cigarette that sparked the blaze, Downey informed investigators.
She was later moved to an area burn heart, the place she was listed in vital however secure situation with burns over almost three-quarters of her physique, in accordance with the community and a GoFundMe arrange by the household.
“How could they do this to my baby?” Donecia Davis, her distraught mother, informed WRAL. “You didn’t have to do this to her.”
Within the on-line fundraiser — which had raised greater than $20,000 as of Thursday — Davis wrote that her daughter could be celebrating her twenty first birthday on New Yr’s Day.
“Due to the hatred of an individual or individuals, her life will be forever changed,” Davis wrote.
“No parent should have to see their child in the condition my daughter is in,” she stated. “I am making her my top priority and have been by her side at the hospital since this incident occurred.”
In a Christmas Day replace, Davis wrote that her daughter shall be going by a 3rd surgical procedure quickly.
The cash raised will assist the household offset the price of these surgical procedures, in addition to remedy and rehab, she added.
Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats stated this was one of the heinous crimes his division has ever seen.
“It’s just a nightmare for this family,” he stated, including that cops are nonetheless trying to find a motive.
“It could have been domestic-related,” he stated. “It could have been a gang initiation. We’re mystified by what’s happened.”
David, in the meantime, is hoping somebody comes ahead.
“Someone tell the truth,” she stated. “You saw it.”
Authorities requested anybody with data to name Det. Ronald Beasley at 910-893-0151, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Workplace at 910-893-9111, the tip line at 910-893-0300, or submit a tip at P3Tips.com.
