David and Anke Doehm were arraigned for the crime “Cruelty to a Child” as they appeared before Chief Magistrate Court Judge Ann Marie Smith in Belize City, on Thursday, July 13, 2017. The charges stem from the death of Anke’s adoptive 13-year-old daughter Faye Lin Cannon.
Bruises were observed on Faye’s arms and legs when she was discovered inside the Doehm’s condo on Ambergris Caye, Belize. A post mortem examination revealed that she had been physically and sexually abused.
Director of Public Prosecution, Cheryl Lynn Vidal, states that the Doehms have not been charged for the murder of Faye Lin because evidence is lacking. “But we did not feel that is was appropriate for us to ignore other charges that could have possibly been laid,” stated Vidal to Belize City media. “And one of them is definitely ‘Cruelty of a Child’. And so we decided that while the investigation into the death is ongoing we would proceed with this one since we have sufficient evidence.”
The DPP objected to bail since the Doehms have little attachment to Belize and because they are from a foreign country, they are a flight risk. “We don’t very often see this level of criminality,” stated Cheryl Lynn Vidal. “The observation section of the post mortem report reads like a horror story. The doctor observed fresh injuries, old injuries and all significant injuries.”
At this stage of the investigations it cannot be determined if the Doehms where the one who inflicted those injuries to Faye Lin, but they were aware of injuries, according to Vidal. She also stated the the Doehms did not take Faye to a medial doctor to address the illness they claim she had. Instead they decided to administer Valium to her and perform some Japanese healing technique on her.
“The extent and nature of the injuries and in light of the fact that they were the persons responsible to take care of this child, amount to tremendous neglect on their part,” stated Vidal.
The Doehms are to report back to court back in San Pedro on August 24 in San Pedro Town. Faye Lin’s father David Cannon is looking into obtaining custody of the siblings.
