Inmate Targeted Stepmom Accused of Horrific Torture

When it came to August 2nd with with. Genesis, what happened that night? >> I didn't know he was going to go against. her or anything. Like, it was just our. problem that night. >> Graciiela Bamante, accused of torturing. her 8-year-old step-daughter to death, just faced a new nightmare. This time, behind bars after she was allegedly. assaulted by a fellow inmate. We're. going to break down the details of this. case and the factors that may have. sparked this attack all with an expert. in this area, prison consultant Justin.

Pernie. Walk the sidebar presented by. Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Graciiela Bamante, also known as Grace. Ma, stepmother charged with torturing. and killing her 8-year-old stepdaughter, just had a very, very rough week behind. bars. She was allegedly assaulted by a. fellow inmate at the Luro Correctional. Facility in Bakersfield, California on. August 8th and reportedly had to be. hospitalized following this attack.

Though local media outlet KBAK reports. she has since returned to the jail. So. why did this happen? Well, I need you to. brace yourself because once you might. hear the details, this all might make a. little bit sense to you. Not justifying. it in any way, but again might make. sense to you. So Bamante and her husband. Ray Mata Jr. are accused of killing. Ray's young daughter, Genesis Arya Mata, who was found dead in a hotel bathtub in. Bakersfield on August 2nd. According to. police reports, Genesis suffered some of.

maybe the most horrific abuse that we. have ever reported on here on Sidebar. I. think that might be a fair conclusion. Police say she was beaten, she was. whipped, and she was burned with boiling. hot water. A child. Authorities alleged. that the couple repeatedly slammed her. fingers in a door frame, crushing her. hands so badly that her fingernails were. separated. It's horrifying. It's. horrifying. There's no other way to say. it. And as for the inmate who allegedly. attacked Bamante, we're talking about.

36-year-old Anita Doran. She's. apparently received tons of support. online, including a flood of donations. to her jail commissary account. Other. inmates reportedly kept their distance. from Bammane because of the charges, but. not Doran, who even said she would. definitely do it again. Now, we'll take. a look at what else Doran had to say, and we'll even get to hear from the. suspect herself, Graciella Bamante. But. first, here's a recap of how this again. just awful, awful case unfolded. So, according to a Bakersville Police.

Department press release, quote, on. August 2nd, at approximately 5:37 p.m., officers from the Bakersville Police. Department responded to the Lita Inn. located at 3232. Riverside Drive regarding a possible. medical emergency. The reporting party. advised that she had received secondhand. information that an 8-year-old female. may be unconscious and not breathing. inside a bathtub. Upon arrival, officers. located the correct room. After. receiving no response and finding the.

bathroom door locked, officers forced. entry. Inside, they discovered an. obviously deceased eight-year-old female. in the bathtub. The child had been left. abandoned and exhibited substantial. trauma to her body. Throughout the. course of the investigation, Ray Mada. Jr. and Graciella Bamante were. identified as suspects. Both were. located and detained without incident. Ma Jr. and Bamante were later arrested. and booked into the Kern County jail on. charges of murder, torture, and multiple.

counts of child abuse. Now, this little. girl, again, 8 years old, Genesis Ma, who police say was left for dead in the. bathtub inside of that hotel room, the. final days of her life, which were. reconstructed from police reports and. court documents, they reveal a nightmare. that no one should ever have to imagine. Crazy story, I know, but this is one we. wanted to bring to you. This is one we. want to stay on top of. And the reason. we can do this is because of the amazing. support that we get from our sponsor,

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the QR code on screen. But make sure to. use our promo code Sidebar because. you'll get an extra 25 cents back on. every gallon on your first tank of gas. According to those reports, Ray Mana Jr. and Graciella Bamante gave conflicting. accounts to police. Each arguably. seemingly trying to shift blame. Yet, when investigators pieced together the. evidence, there was this picture of. alleged abuse and neglect that emerged. quite rapidly, and it apparently or. allegedly exposed the full extent of. what they say Genesis endured. Media.

outlet KG reviewed police reports and. court documents to compile a timeline of. what authorities say happened that. night, drawing on witness statements and. interviews with the suspects. And in the. weeks leading up to her death, Genesis. and her siblings were reportedly living. in unstable condition, staying at this. Lita Inn at the time. Her father Mada. had a history of legal trouble, including arrests for firearms, drug. possession, driving without a license. On Tuesday, July 8th, after failing to. show up in court on his 2021 gun, and.

drug charges, a bench warrant was issued. for Ma's arrest. He was taken into. custody but later bailed out by the Lita. in manager after Boo Damonte apparently. intervened. Then you go to Friday, August 1st around the middle of the day. A Lita housekeeper went to clean Ma's. room and when no one answered after. knocking, she used her master key. The. door was locked from the inside and when. she announced herself, she said she. heard a boy on the other side say, "No. thank you." Now, it is worth noting that.

that voice could have been one of. Genesis's other siblings, but police say. based on the interviews with Ma and. Bamante, this was the day that Genesis. had been tortured and left in the motel. bathtub. Though the exact timing of all. that remains unclear, but what we do. know per kg is that later that night at. around 9:28 p.m., a hotel employee said. they were in the staff laundry area when. Ma appeared unexpectedly, asking for a. cleaning bucket and claiming his room. was dirty. So, he apparently returned.

shortly after to grab towels, leaves. again. And around the same time, police. say Bamante called a friend or a. relative, claiming that Ma had quote. strangled her during an argument and. arranged to be picked up the next. morning at a downtown bus station. Then. you go to Saturday morning, August 2nd, when Bamante's friend arrived at the bus. station. Ma and a three-year-old child. were with her. So by this point, neither. Mata nor Booante, according to police, are at that Lita Inner. And by 5:32 p.m.

on August 2nd, Ma's sister said Bamante. called her in a panic, saying she had. left Genesis with Ma and that the child. was submerged in the bathtub. And this. is when police say they were called. So, per the probable cause statement that. was reviewed by KBAK, an officer who. responded to the scene after it was. declared a crime scene described what. they saw, saying, "I observed there was. a small unclothed female child, later. identified as Genesis Ariamada, laying. supine inside the bathtub of the. bathroom. I observed immediately that.

she appeared to be physically injured on. the majority of her body, consistent. with being burned. I observed that there. was skin splitting on the top of her. head, genitals, stomach, arms, and legs. It should be noted I also observed there. were foam bubbles emitting from the. nostrils of Genesis. I observed her back. had massive scarring and additional. burns. Genesis back was consistent with. being whipped and her flesh under the. skin was exposed. I observed Genesis had. her head almost shaved bald. While I was.

observing Genesis, I observed that her. fingernails on her left hand were ripped. from the nail bed. According to KBAK, one officer who entered the room was. stunned by the scene, quote, exclaiming, "Oh my god," and appeared in shock by. covering his mouth. Now, as we mentioned. earlier, police say that Bamante claimed. in an interview that Genesis was killed. on August 1st, so a full day before 911. was called. And according to. authorities, Booamante apparently told.

them that Mada performed CPR when he. noticed Genesis wasn't breathing. Yet no. one contacted law enforcement at that. time. And per the police report, Boo. Damonte's mother talked with police, telling them she was informed by. Graciella Bamante that Ray Mada Jr. punched Genesis until she was. unconscious. Reporting from KG indicates. that an investigator who spoke with Ma. had this to say. Ray Ma stated he did. not mean to do this and it happened out. of madness. Ray Mada stated it happened. because his kids weren't listening. Now,

Genesis was allegedly not the only one. abused. According to KG, Boomani told. investigators that she quote watched Ray. Mada Jr. beat the children until their. backs bled a lot on many occasions. The. children were reportedly whipped with. hangers and wires. Ma allegedly admitted. to police that he was responsible for. the beatings, but that Bamante is the. one who heated water up in the microwave. and then poured it over Genesis. That's. according to reporting from KG after. they reviewed court documents. Now, child protective services apparently.

already had an active case against Mada. because a boy, seemingly one of his. children, had been missing school. And. when the boy did show up, he had. apparently bruising on his arms. This is. according to court documents. When. officers examined this boy, they. reportedly found a whole slew of. injuries, including scars all over his. body that appeared to be from lit. cigarettes and a lighter being held. against his skin. During the couple's. first court appearance on August 5th, they both pleaded not guilty to charges. of first-degree murder, willful cruelty. to a child, torture. Now, Boo Damonte.

apparently spoke out from jail, and. we're going to unpack what she had to. say in a moment, but first, I want to. bring on a special guest, somebody who. has the expertise to explain what is. going on behind bars, particularly when. we're talking about this alleged attack. So, I want to break it down with prison. consultant Justin Pernie. Justin, thank. you so much for coming back on the. program. Great to see you. Just your. thoughts on this so far. It's just a. tragic case, but with a very wild. development. >> It's tragic. You have such empathy for.

the family and it's not surprising that. the community is coalesing around this. woman who engaged in this assault of. this woman who allegedly killed this. beautiful little girl. So like the moral. emotion that people feel in society, they need to get behind it and support. this woman. It's not uncommon. And I. suspect even though the end result for. this woman who engaged in the assault, she may get a longer prison term than. what she was already facing. The support. that she is receiving, the fact that she. is viewed like um as a hero and she is.

responsible for the retribution that so. many people want, it makes the case. stand out. And it just doesn't help not. just the crime, but apparently how they. were responding in prison with a sense. of carelessness and no recognition of. the terrible, sickening harm they have. done. And you can expect more pain for. them as their prison term continues. because of the crime. >> Now, movies and television shows will. tell you that those who are accused or. found guilty or convicted of harming. children have a very tough time in.

prison. That those are the ones who are. uh most likely to be targets for. assaults. I don't Is that true? Is that. something you see here? When I tell you. what she's accused of doing and now she. is purportedly the victim of an assault, are you surprised by that or you say, "Hey, listen, Jesse, those are the. people who are targets in prison.". >> I'm not surprised by it. It's true. When. I was in the halfway house in Hollywood, California in August 2009, my bunky. served 40 years for robbing banks told. stories about being in the penitentiary. And he flat out said, and it's right out.

of a movie, we have more respect for a. killer than someone who engaged in the. raping or killing of of a child, molestation, those sorts of crimes. So. that is absolutely true their journey. will be measurably harder because. there's this sense of okay, if I killed. someone, it's gang related. It's not. right. But that's the life that we. signed up for. A little girl, this sort. of crime is unforgivable. All these. crimes are unforgivable. But but yes, it. is a stigma. It is higher risk. And it. leads to a harder prison adjustment for.

them, which I know brings happiness to. people who want them to suffer. segregation, locked away, and much more. protection and isolation. And it's. simply a matter of time before some. prisoner or inmate takes it upon. themselves to bring back this like. vigilante justice. They want to get. their name in the news. Many of the. people with whom they will eventually. serve their life sentence are serving. life. So like they they don't have a. release date. They're not concerned. about going to the hole or getting. transferred. They want to hold people.

some of they disgust and disdain. accountable. Yes, it is a measurably. harder journey. >> I want to turn to something. I mentioned. it before. So, in this exclusive. interview with 23 ABC News, Graciiela. Bamante actually spoke from jail about. these events surrounding Genesis's death. and what she said happened. >> Heartbreaking, sad. Ray told me to get. the fall for him. It would always just I. was just like always like.

scared like, "Oh, just do it or watch.". I did see her when I left the room. She. was alive. if I would have just stayed. and talked to him like. I don't think this would have happened. >> Now, notably, Ma's family told the. outlet that they had reported concerns. to CPS, but Booamante said the agency. never responded. Justin, back to you. Based on Booamante's statements in the. interview, how might fear of a. codefendant or a partner influence maybe.

an inmate's behavior and choices in priv. prison? Is that something that should be. a consideration? >> It should absolutely be a consideration. Everything they do now is going to be. considered uh by the court in the way. that they I suppose pit one another. against one another. Their goal now is. to to try to avoid eventually they're. going to accept responsibility. They're. going to plead guilty. And the hope is. that they don't get life in prison, though it's though it's likely and one. is going to accept more responsibility. than the other. It was tragic to read.

the news reports of the family coming. out and saying there were signs. one. alleged or someone said there's no way. this was a one-off. It's been going on. for a sustained period of time. So, there was some breakdown in protocols. Hopefully, processes will change. But, um, yeah, exactly right. >> I don't know her. I'm not like a. psychiatrist. I'm not a psychologist. I'm not a mind readader, but I got to. say when she says or allegedly admits. that she left the room uh while this. child was alive and maybe she feels a.

sense of guilt or the trauma of that. Again, I I don't know her, but talking. about somebody who's accused of this and. if you're dealing with a situation for. arguments purposes that she might feel a. sense of I could have stopped this, I. could have prevented this from. happening. Does incarceration amplify. that? Does it amplify someone's guilt? Does it does it help in someone. recognizing what they failed to do or. what they actively did? Does that affect. them in some way? >> I think given her history of the way.

they looked after this little girl, that. statement wasn't some acceptance of. responsibility. It was nothing more than. trying to absolve herself of some. responsibility, stating that I wasn't. there. Therefore, things that happened. in the end I wasn't responsible for. So, I don't think prison has been some. awakening for her. are like, "Well, I'm. going to accept responsibility and come. clean and make it easier for the people. whose lives I've devastated." I hear a. statement like that that I was leaving. is simply a way for to avoid accepting. any responsibility and to put blame on. the other person and they're just going.

to go back and forth. They're going to. recreate the timeline. Everything that. has happened going back months, it's. going to shock people. It's going to. disgust people. You're going to see. failures in the system. How did they. allow this to happen? But that statement. was nothing more than her trying to not. accept responsibility for what she's. done. Now, as we mentioned earlier, right, she was reportedly attacked. inside this jail on August 8th. This is. according to the Kern County Sheriff's. Office. And that alleged attacker, inmate Anita Doran spoke with KBAK, showing no remorse, even apparently.

saying that she would do it again. She. apparently told the outlet, "When you're. faced with someone that's gross and has. no remorse, you kind of don't want to. deal with it because you don't want to. take it to where you want to take it. I. would definitely do this again." and she. told KBAK that she spent time in the. foster care system. Spoke about child. protective services, saying when it. comes to the foster and CPS system, we've got to protect these kids. What's. happening to these children is serious. It's an epidemic and it's disgusting, but something needs to be done. Now, following this assault, as I mentioned,

her commissary account reportedly. received a lot of cash donations from. the community. It's kind of unclear. whether they were directly related to. the attack, but assuming for a moment. they are, Justin, is that unusual? Have. you ever seen anything like that? Somebody allegedly engages in vigilante. justice against a known uh a known. suspect, a known criminal defendant, a. convicted defendant, let's say, um, and. they're rewarded. Have you seen anything. like that? >> I've seen it before. and every dollar.

she received maximizing her commissary. essentially is the public telling her, "We approve of what you have done." And. then you have this social media. amplification where someone posts it and. they share it. Here's how you can send. her money. And it's a way for people to. express their moral outrage, support her. in any way they can. So, I've seen it in. some high-profile cases before, and her. statement from the jail was interesting. to me. Clearly, she's not thinking about. trying to get the shortest sentence. possible. She's doubling down and say,

"I would continue to do this again. And. she's clearly not afraid of prison. She's clearly not afraid of the. consequences." You could argue she's. being authentic when she says, "I'm not. going to tell you what you want to hear. There's no dancing here with me. I would. absolutely do it again." Now, the risk. for her is a longer sentence, segregation. She's at risk. She's in. prison allegedly for committing a crime. And she continues to commit crime. So, you're going to have a prosecutor say. she is a menace. But as you can see, she. doesn't care and society is supporting. her. She may get a longer sentence. She.

will never worry about having money. coming onto her books. That much I can. tell you. I don't think a story like. this will die. And you could even argue. people in the community upon her release. may say, "We're so grateful for what you. did and helping bring justice to this. woman. We want to offer you a job. We. want to offer you two jobs. We want to. offer you a place to live." These things. certainly can happen as the public. attention continues uh to grow. The last. thing she is concerned about right now. is the length of her sentence based on. her actions and statement from the jail.

>> How does that help her reputation behind. bars? Is that something that she would. be well respected by her fellow inmates. for allegedly doing this? >> I think she'll be respected like she is. the the symbol for retribution. Okay. She is the one who didn't talk about it. She did it. A lot of people talk. Okay. She actually said, "This person disgusts. me. I know there will be consequences. that will follow. I'm going to take. action and let this person know what I. think of this sort of crime. She. probably, forgive me for speculating, as.

you said, I don't know her. There could. arguably be some regret. The punishment. wasn't harder for her. She didn't harm. her further, maybe take her life. So, she is respected amongst that prison. because a lot of people, we should do. this. We should do it. We should do it. She actually did it. It's why so many in. society respect her. It's why they're. sending her money and it's why I presume. other prisoners respect her as well. A. lot of people talk, very few people do. it because they don't want to endure the. consequences that she is now going to. endure.

>> Not that you would advise someone like. Bamante considering what she's accused. of doing. But if you were, what would. you advise her from a prison consultant. point of view? What would you advise her. to do to navigate, you know, the. heightened danger, the stigma going into. an environment like this? and now she's. being assaulted. How do you advise. somebody be prepared for that? >> So, look, her lawyer is clearly going to. advise, I presume, to accept. responsibility. And the lawyer is going. to say, "Somehow we've got to say that.

you were swept into this. You enabled. this conduct. This the husband, the. father, the boyfriend, whomever. controlled you." So, this person is. going to try to engineer an outcome. Someday could get her out of prison or. if she goes to higher security prison. could work her way down to a lower. security prison. So whether it's a. terrible murder like this or it's a. standard white collar crime once you're. in prison most rational defendants and I. don't know if she's rational say I want. to try to engineer my way out of here. How do I do that? It would start if she. did it. I would advise her if you did it.

to fully accept responsibility. You have. devastated people's lives. Crush them. People will never be the same because of. you. You've got to own and understand. what that means and demonstrate while. this little girl can never come back. What can you do better moving forward? Maybe it's helping hold this other hold. this other person accountable. So she. has to engineer the best possible. outcome and I presume it will start by. accepting responsibility and pinning. more of the conduct on on the man. >> So let me bring it full circle back to. Genesis, right? The victim in this case. So Genesis family, they were asking for.

the community support to give a proper. farewell. Her cousin Sophia Hernandez. set up a GoFundMe to help lay Genesis to. rest. The campaign has since closed, but. Sophia wrote, "She was full of life, had. a beautiful spirit, and loved anything. that sparkled. Her life was stolen far. too soon. Our family is devastated and. trying to stay positive during this. incredibly difficult time. We are asking. for help from the community to lay. Genesis to rest." And even in the face. of tragedy, the family is hoping that.

the community can come together to honor. and remember this little girl. And as. the investigation into Genesis death. continues, Ma has been sentenced in. several prior court cases. According to. outlet KG in July before Genesis was. found dead, Mada apparently pleaded no. contest to carrying a loaded firearm. without registration, tampering with the. serial number on a firearm. In a. separate case, he pleaded no contest to. a misdemeanor count of possessing. marijuana for sale. A felony count of. keeping a place to sell a controlled.

substance was dismissed. The KGET. reports that the judge sentenced Ma to. two years of probation and 70 days in. the Kern County jail for the gun case. But in light of what he and Boo Damonte. are now facing, nothing compared to it. because now we're talking about a. preliminary hearing for both of them in. the murder case. The murder case has. been scheduled for October 14th. We'll. keep a careful eye on it. Justin Pernie, thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it. >> I'm grateful to be back. Thank you. And.

that's all we have for you right now. here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so. much for joining us and as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple. Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should. get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. We'll speak to you next time. [Music].