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Zaikiya Duncan was arrested for child abuse 10 years ago but got off with parenting class and probation

Zaikiya's twins who escaped from their home this week shared unimaginable stories of the torture they endured, allegedly at the hands of their own mother and her boyfriend, Jova
UPDATED OCT 21, 2022
Zaikiya  Duncan was arrested in Baton Rouge and charged with injury to a child and aggravated assault (Facebook/Zaikiya Duncan)
Zaikiya Duncan was arrested in Baton Rouge and charged with injury to a child and aggravated assault (Facebook/Zaikiya Duncan)

If you or anyone you know suspects child abuse, you are urged to immediately call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.

BATON ROGUE, LOUISIANA: Zaikiya Duncan, along with her 27-year-old boyfriend, Jova Terrell, were arrested Tuesday, October 18, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on charges of injury to a child. It was reported that she confined her children in her Texas home and forced them to drink their urine while they lived surrounded by their feces. Now, unearthed records reveal that Duncan, along with her then-husband, was arrested a decade ago for a similar crime but was let off by the state with a parenting class and probation, as reported by The Advocate

According to affidavits of probable cause, Nicholas Menia, 24, and Zaikiya Duncan were booked with one count each of cruelty to juveniles by East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies while they lived in 6630 Siegen Lane, Apartment 139. The documents explain that one of the children was sent to Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center’s Pediatric Burn Unit for burn treatments to feet, genitalia, and buttocks by the school which noticed that the child could not stand or sit right. The child, 5, was visibly bruised as well. The document says that the burns were consistent with being submerged in hot water. The Advocate further reported that Duncan told the authorities that she, along with Menia, would disciple her child by making them get into push-up positions for over an hour causing their hands to swell. 

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While examining the child, the authorities found his twin sister who also had bruises on her arms and legs. After reaching their home in Siegen Lane, the police found that there was a 2-year-old child and Duncan was returning home from a doctor's appointment for her 8-month-pregnancy. The affidavits further explain that Duncan and Menia would force their children to sleep on the floor with the doors shut with a board so that they could not escape or steal food from the kitchen. Menina said, "boards were placed in front of closet doors to keep the child from 'escaping' and 'stealing' food from the kitchen." Menina came into the home with another 2-year-old. Their 4-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy would sleep on the floor of the master bedroom despite having two empty beds. They were soon arrested for cruelty to a juvenile and DCFS took custody of all six children at the time.

16-year-old abused twins ran door to door through their Cypress neighborhood, barefoot and shivering, for half an hour pleading for help. (KHOU11)
16-year-old abused twins ran door to door through their Cypress neighborhood, barefoot and shivering, for half an hour pleading for help (Screenshot/KHOU11 security footage by ADT services)

In 2022, Zaikiya and her boyfriend Terrell allegedly took five children from the Cypress identified as - Nicholas Menina, 7, Zayden Menina, 10, Jovion Menina, 12, Javier Menina, 12, and Jarod Menina, 14. Duncan eventually pleaded guilty to the crime and was let off with a parenting class, was put on probation which was completed in 2020. Ten years later, Duncan was back to the same routine as the 16-year-old twins who managed to escape and hastily through the neighborhood for half an hour seeking help before someone called 911. The woman who called the authorities explained the situation of the twins to KHOU saying, "They were so skinny and so frail. They just looked like they had been through a lot. They told me that their mom kept them locked in the laundry room, naked, zip tied from the ankles and handcuffed from the wrist."



 

The twins, who suffered through the same a decade ago, told the investigators that they were not allowed to use the toilet, forced to drink their own urine, and lay surrounded by their feces. The twins were malnourished and the boy had at least one fractured bone that healed over time as per the outlet. Both twins had several bruises, cuts, and scars and were so thin that their bones were sticking out. The authorities explained that only one child was found with the couple and the other four boys were later found safe with relatives in Louisiana. All seven children were placed in Child Protective Service custody. The state's lenient dealing with Duncan ten years ago led to her committing the same crime to her children. Duncan and Terrell were arrested in Baton Rouge and charged with injury to a child. 

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