Sixth Family Member Arrested in Margate Teen Torture Case After Two-Year Investigation

Denaria Graham, 24, was booked into the Broward Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday after evading law enforcement for more than two years. Her arrest marks the sixth family member taken into custody and the fifth directly implicated in an ongoing investigation into the prolonged abuse of her teenage cousin, who first reported the mistreatment to an online instructor in October 2023.

The initial investigation began when guardians Latricia Elizabeth Crawley, 49, and Benjamin Deztuan Lockett, 46, were arrested after the 15-year-old reported severe abuse occurring in a residence located in the 200 block of Northwest 79th Terrace. Court documents detail an extensive pattern of torture including beatings, forcing the victim to kneel on rice after oiling her knees, binding her with rope, and repeatedly dousing her with boiling and cold water.

Amended charges describe additional acts of violence: Crawley allegedly inserted thumbtacks through the girl’s fingernails, deployed a stapler gun on her back, pepper-sprayed her face, and applied a caustic mixture of Epsom salt and conditioner to her eyes. Authorities found the victim confined in two separate closets where she was forced to use a bucket for sanitation needs and exhibited severe signs of malnutrition and starvation.

Graham faced charges of aggravated child abuse, child neglect, and failure to report abuse. During her tenure in the home, she was assigned supervisory duties over the victim and would restrict access to the closet located in her room except during necessary sanitation breaks. A judge ordered her held without bail at Thursday’s hearing.

Previous arrests included the victim’s sister Shankyria Clayton, 23, accused of awareness and complicity in the confinement and starvation, and cousin Treaunshae Gibbons, 32, who worked for a child abuse nonprofit yet allegedly failed to report the mistreatment and assisted Crawley in managing police inquiries. Horace Crawley, 74, was arrested in November 2023 on registry violations but was never implicated in the abuse itself; he subsequently pleaded no contest and received probation.

A court hearing for the remaining defendants is scheduled for September 14, with expectations that Graham will be included in those proceedings. Officials indicated she knowingly surrendered after becoming aware of the active investigation.