Mary Mazalic Held on $500k Bail After Torture of Child

Mary Mazalic, a 34-year-old from Mukilteo, has been held on $500,000 bail after an emaciated 10-year-old girl was rescued from her New York home by Child Protective Services. The accused was known as ‘mom’ to the girl, though was in fact the girlfriend of the child’s brother.

Mazalic, who prosecutors say “repeatedly and brutally beat, starved, burned, threatened, humiliated and abused” the child, has been charged with first-degree assault of a child and first-degree criminal mistreatment.

Hospital nurses taking care of the rescued girl had to assure her that she could eat anything she liked. The child is said to have responded with, “No, don’t spend any money. If you do, please write my mom [Mazalic] a note so I don’t get in trouble.” The girl reportedly watched Mazalic eat at McDonald’s, though was never allowed food there.

Mazalic was arrested by authorities after local shopkeepers reported the youngster’s emaciated condition. The clerks who reported the case said the girl shook constantly as she followed Mazalic around. Mazalic told store staff that the girl was a ‘bad kid.’

While the girl weighed an alarming 51 pounds when rescued, her two weeks in hospital saw her put on a further 20 pounds. Doctors said the girl appeared to have sat in urine for some time, and cigarette burns were found on the tops of her feet.

There was also injuries to the girl’s chest and stomach consistent with being whipped with some sort of cord; she told prosecutors that she was beaten with an extension cord while a sock was stuffed in her mouth to silence her. The child said Mazalic would take a break during beatings, such were their length and ferocity.

She also claimed she was made to sleep in a bathtub, take cold showers, and was forced to go without food. She was forcefed soap, and Mazalic, who often ate in front of the child, is alleged to have said “too bad” when the child said she was hungry.

The girl was sent to Mazalic’s home by her parents, who paid Mazalic to take care of her. Mazalic has made false claims of being the girl’s adoptive mother, according to detectives. She has also falsely stated that the girl was expelled from school for stealing.

Mazalic was arrested last week and is to be arraigned on the charges Tuesday in Snohomish County Superior Court.