LONDON, May 10 (UPI) -- Four members of a London family were on trial Tuesday, charged with 15 months of violent abuse on an 8-year-old girl they accused of being a witch.
The Times of London said prosecutors began the trial Monday outlining how the child's extended family had starved, beaten, cut with a knife and rubbed chili peppers in the girl's eyes.
Her ordeal went unnoticed by teachers, social workers and neighbors for 15 months, during which time the girl was abused almost daily, prosecutors said.
Another family member reportedly saved the girl from drowning in January 2004, minutes after she was stuffed into a large bag and was about to be thrown into a canal, the newspaper said.
Using DNA, police determined the abusers were members of an extended Angolan immigrant family.
After 15 months of abuse, social services officials were finally alerted, and the girl was placed in foster care.
The trial continued Tuesday.
