The State - News from May 25, 1989

Two teen-agers have been arrested in Oroville in connection with the abduction and torture of a 2 1/2-year-old girl, authorities said. Butte County Dist. Atty. Mike Ramsey said a 14-year-old girl is suspected of helping torture the child, who investigators believe was abducted as the result of a dispute between her parents and an Oroville woman, Tonia Smith, 18. A 17-year-old boy allegedly tried to divert officers from a motel room where the baby reportedly was held for five hours. Police said the child suffered burns over 20% of her body and minor puncture wounds believed to have been caused by a ball-point pen. The suspects, whose names were withheld because of their ages, were identified as friends of Smith. They were arrested for investigation of false imprisonment, child abuse and mayhem, police said. Smith was arrested in an adjacent motel room soon after police found the child.