Cleveland woman and kids trapped in California garage for months get Lifetime movie
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CLEVELAND — In 1998, Laura Cowan and her kids were held captive inside a garage with no running water, heat or a bathroom in California after being manipulated into marrying a child abuser and polygamist named Mansa Musa Muhummed.
“When I was locked up in that garage, I said, ‘Lord if my children and I survive this I dedicate my life helping others, so they don’t go through what we went through,’” Cowan said.
Cowan says Muhummed would beat, torture and starve his 13 kids and three wives.
“The children would steal food because they were hungry, and he would only feed them at certain times. Sometimes he wouldn’t feed them at all and that was a punishment,” Cowan said.
According to Cowan, Muhummed used a lot of torture techniques that were cruel and unheard of.
“One of his sons had stolen some rice but they wouldn’t tell who did it, so he took one of his sons and he buried a hole in the backyard. He put him in it, and he covered him in dirt up to his chest. I couldn’t figure out what that was about, but when he went in cabinet and got some honey and poured it over his head, seconds later the ants started eating him and biting him. Then he told and confessed who ate the rice,” said Cowan.
The torture came to an end when Cowan was able to pass a note with gruesome details to a post office clerk while Muhummed took her to pick up a package. Two days later, Sheriffs showed up at Muhummed’s door, and he was arrested in November 1999.
He was convicted on 25 counts, including falsely imprisoning his wives, abusing children and torturing them. He is currently serving seven consecutive life sentences.
“All 25 stuck. None was dropped. I don’t have to look over my shoulder because he is there for life. And it feels great because when I talk to a lot of victims that go through domestic violence, that’s their number one fear,” Cowan said.
It took eight years of therapy and her faith to help her and her kids pick up the broken pieces, and now she shares her story, hoping to encourage other women dealing with domestic violence. Even if it still triggers her own trauma.
Content retrieved from: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/cleveland-woman-kids-trapped-in-california-garage-for-months-gets-lifetime-movie.
