By  Seamus McGraw

November 16, 2006

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RICHMOND, Calif. (Crime Library) —  As friends and family prepared today to bury little Raijon Daniels, an 8-year-old boy who police believe died after a yearlong ordeal of torture and abuse, his mother remained jailed, awaiting a court appearance on charges that she was responsible for the brutal treatment that led to his death.

Raijon Daniels

Teresa Moses, 23, is charged with torturing the boy, who died last month after he was apparently force-fed a caustic household cleanser. Investigators are awaiting the results of a toxicological test before deciding whether to charge Moses with murder. Moses, who has not yet entered a plea in the torture case, though her attorney has maintained that she's innocent, is expected to make an appearance Friday morning in court.

Teresa Marie Moses

That appearance is scheduled one day after Raijon's funeral.

In the meantime, the Contra Costa County Children and Family Services agency, the authority responsible for protecting children, has placed Raijon's 3-year-old sister with relatives and is launching an investigation into its own handling of the case.

The agency has come under intense fire, both locally and nationally, since the boy died late last month after he was brought to a local emergency room suffering from chemical poisoning and what appeared to be chemical burns on his genitals and rope marks on his arms. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

The controversy intensified when it was learned that on at least three occasions in the year leading up to Raijon's death, the child protective services agency had been warned about potentially grave problems in Moses' household.

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Teresa Moses Accused of Torturing 8-Year-Old Son to Death