Ria Ramkissoon – Mother And Cult Member Friends Charged With Murder In Starvation Death Of 2 Year Old Who Refused To Say “Amen”

Baltimore, MD (The Weekly Vice) -- Ria Ramkissoon, a 21 year old cult member was arrested and charged Sunday with murder in the beating and starvation death of her two-year-old son because the child did not conform to the cult's requirements of saying "amen" after meals.

Now, Baltimore authorities have obtained warrants, charging four additional members of the religious cult "1 Mind Ministries" with the murder of Javon Thompson, Ramkissoon's son.

Ramkissoon, along with her cult member friends, neglected, beat and starved little Javon Thompson to death because they thought he was "demon possessed" for not saying "amen" after he was fed, according to court documents.

Investigators say witnesses told authorities that the cult's leader, who was known to the group as Queen Antoinette, "had a problem with baby Javon, who would not comply with mealtime ritual of saying "Amen" after meals. The more the Queen pressed Javon, the more resistant he became."

Witnesses told investigators that the members refused to get the child medical attention when he finally stopped breathing and died while in his mother's arms, according to court documents.

Witnesses told police that the boy's body was then moved to a backroom and prayed over at the command of the cult's leader who insisted "god was going to raise Javon from the dead".

Authorities believe the child died in December, 2006 while cult members still resided in West Baltimore. In February of 2007, police say the group fled to Philadelphia with the boy's decomposing body packed into a green suitcase. The group continued to move around from place to place, eventually settling at a friend's home, where they stashed the remains in a shed behind the house.

Investigators found Javon Thompson's body in that shed in May, after receiving a tip from a New York Administration for Child Services worker in February. (we have yet been unable to determine why the lapse in time).

The additional arrests for murder include the cult's leader, Toni Ellsberry, 40, Trevia Williams, 20, Marcus Cobbs, 21, and Steven Bynum, 42. Cult members Antoinette, Williams and Cobbs were already in police after their arrest in May.

The members were arrested in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the assault of a family services worker who went to the home to remove a child from the home during a custody dispute. The outstanding warrant was issued when the suspects failed to show up for court. (which is why we hate low bail amounts in these types of cases).

As of Monday, Ramkissoon was reportedly still being held in observation without bail at the psychiatric ward of the Women's Detention Center in Baltimore.

The Weekly Vice Opinion:

Aside note in this case - it appears that Ramkissoon's family and attorney is deflecting Ramkissoon's responsibility for the death of the child, claiming that it was the cult member's fault because THEY made the decision to stop feeding the child.

To the family and the attorney - I'm calling bullshit. They ALL are responsible. I don't care if Mickey Mouse beamed down from the starship Enterprise and demanded that the child be starved. This case deserves nothing short of first-degree murder charges because starvation death basically involves the decision to murder a child every day, by withholding food, water or treatment until the death is accomplished. It certainly can't be argued that it's not premeditated.

This whole group should be forced to occupy the same 2x2 cell for the rest of their natural lives, and even THAT is being merciful for their heinous acts.

Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://theweeklyvice.com