The child had been beaten to death; she also had been physically and sexually abused
SAN PEDRO, Ambergris Caye, Wed. July 17, 2019– Anke Doehm, 48, an American who had been living in San Pedro and who was the adopted mother of Faye Lin Cannon, 13, also of San Pedro, will be tried in the Supreme Court without her husband for the death and sexual abuse of the girl.
In July 2017, Anke and her husband, David Doehm, were arrested and charged jointly with cruelty to a child after a post-mortem exam conducted on the body of their adopted daughter certified the cause of the child’s death to be compression on the chest, which caused internal hemorrhaging, and additionally revealed that she had been sexually and physically abused.
The Doehms, however, told police that the girl died of natural causes. They were ordered to stand trial at the Supreme Court.
On October 5, 2018, however, David was found dead in a room at the Princess Ramada Hotel in Belize City. An autopsy conducted on his body certified that his death was the result of suicide. Anke will now be tried alone for the death of the child.
Information to us is that in July 2017, police were called to the home of the Doehms in San Pedro, where they saw the lifeless body of Faye Lin lying on a bed. Police say they saw bruises on her legs, the right side of her head was swollen, and a cut wound was seen on the right side of her head.
The girl’s adoptive mother, Anke Doehm, told police that the teenager was mentally challenged. She said that the girl would hit herself and slam her body against the wall, and that for the past three weeks she had refused to eat, or come out of her room.
Following the result of the autopsy, investigators arrested and jointly charged the Doehms with cruelty to a child. They were taken to the San Pedro Magistrate Court, where they were remanded, but after 10 days of incarceration, they each were able to secure a $10,000 bail from the Supreme Court, and they were released.
Faye Lin Cannon was the eldest of four sisters who had been in the household of the Doehms. Police handed over her three sisters to the Human Services Department. They have since been returned to the United States to live with their adopted father, David Cannon, said police.
Anke continues to live in San Pedro and is complying with the conditions of the bail, including that she must report to the San Pedro Police Station two times per week and that she cannot leave San Pedro without the permission of the police, and that she must surrender her travel documents.
San Pedranos had strongly denounced the cruel death of the girl, and many protest marches and vigils were held. Faye Lin was described as having been a bright and mannerly girl.