ajc.com | Atlanta/South Metro | Girl, 6, found dead in motelMain page saved from : http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/0104/20childdeath.html [ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 1/20/04 ] Girl, 6, found dead in motel 'Severely broken': Detectives believe case involved 'some type of ritual to get rid of demons.' By MIKE MORRIS and CRAIG SCHNEIDER and MILO IPPOLITO The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Christopher Carey, charged with murder in the death of a 6-year-old girl at the Savannah Suites motel in downtown Atlanta, is seen in this photo from the Fulton County Sheriff's Dept. • Atlanta/South Metro community page A 6-year-old girl found dead in an Atlanta motel was the victim of an apparent ritual, police said. The child was found Monday in a room at the Savannah Suites, an extended-stay motel in downtown Atlanta. She had been strangled and stabbed, and her back was broken, police said. "She had numerous broken bones and compound fractures," said Atlanta police public information officer John Quigley. "The child's body was severely broken." A husband and wife, Christopher Carey, 29, and Valerie Carey, 27, were charged with murder. Police discovered the dead child after finding the couple and two children, 2 and 7, walking nude down Piedmont Avenue in the near-freezing cold about 12:30 a.m. Monday. Several 911 callers had alerted police to a nude family, said police Lt. R.C. Robinson. The surviving children were placed with the Division of Family and Children Services. Based on statements made by the family, detectives "believe that the couple acted out some type of ritual to get rid of demons of some sort," said Quigley. Pages ripped from a Bible were found on the floor, he said. He would not elaborate on other evidence. Police determined through interviews with the man and woman and the oldest child that they were living downtown at the Savannah Suites on Pine Street. Officers went to the motel about 5 a.m. and found the partially covered body of the 6-year-old girl. Mike Morris/AJC Investigators at the motel room in Midtown early Monday. The man and woman originally were taken to the psychiatric unit at Grady Memorial Hospital, where the woman remained Monday night, Quigley said. The man later was taken to the Fulton County Jail. The 2-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl did not appear to be physically harmed, said Quigley. "I would be concerned about what the 7-year-old witnessed," he added. Quigley said police will use DNA testing to determine whether the 6-year-old girl is the Careys' daughter because Christopher Carey made statements questioning her identity. Investigators said the adults and children had been staying at the Savannah Suites since last July. Police had not determined why the four were walking down the street unclothed on a night when temperatures dipped into the low 30s. The family had received assistance from several Atlanta charities. "They told us a vague story," said Dominic Heard, director of social service for Crossroads Ministries. "They were new in town and they needed shelter until he found work." Crossroads and Travelers Aid each paid one week's rent at the extended-stay facility for the family last summer, Heard said. St. Mark United Methodist Church also provided assistance to the family. A pastor at the church, Phillip Thomason, said the church has worked with the family since summer providing rent assistance, a Publix supermarket gift certificate and most recently Christmas presents. "I asked the family for a wish list for the children," said Thomason. The church bought both of the girls a Swan Lake Barbie, and a remote-control car for the boy. All of the children received coloring books and crayons. "I asked if the children needed coats and he said no," said Thomason. Thomason said Christopher Carey was always "respectful and thankful," and he saw no evidence of alcohol or drug use. Carey told Thomason the family came from North Carolina for a job that didn't pan out. "He said he was in computers." Motel neighbor John Thompson said he knew the family by sight but not by name. "They seemed normal," Thompson said. "They weren't in the drug crowd. They didn't have people in and out." He said he used to see the couple walking up the street pushing a baby stroller. The children appeared well cared for, he said. "They weren't kids you would think would be abused. They were happy kids." By using ajc.com you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement. Please read it. (c) 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution