QuietStorm
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down
Could be, could be. But here are some thoughts from me. AD's previous raid showed signs of manufacture of a drug or drugs in the home, most likely crack according to statements made on NG (sorry, no link - will have to search). If AD was the manufacturer and MAM the distributor, wouldn't it be more likely that he owed her money?
Secondly, if the neighborhood and associates of AD were as poor as discussed, it is hard to imagine that if AD did rack up a drug debt, that it could be large enough to necessiate the sale of a child. Who is going to extend her that much credit? Mario? Yeah, maybe - but I'm having a hard time believing that a man who shoots people in the face and runs over policemen is going to be that 'charitable.'
If, on the other hand, AD and/or AD plus associates stole from MAM or something similar, that would prompt a more violent reaction in my mind. Another scenario would be if BD was playing her current boyfriend against ex-boyfriend MAM, that could have enraged MAM to the point of violence. Could Shaniya have been offered up in a confrontation in which the whole family was threatened?
Could there have been threats to expose long-term abuse of the 7-year-old so the 5-year-old is offered up as payment for silence? There may not have been a bond with Shaniya but perhaps one with the older child.
All of these are pure speculations, including the possibility that there WAS a drug debt. For some reason that possibility isn't ringing sound for me. Perhaps it should, but at this time it isn't. Going to prison for the rest of one's life doesn't sound like such a good repayment when shooting the debtor or insisting she manufacture free product would more likely settle the debt. One payment carries a huge risk of consequences while the other does not.
MOO