PHOENIX—John Allen (D.O.B. 07/19/1988) has received the sentence of death for the murder of his family member, 10-year-old Ame Deal. He was found guilty of 1st degree murder, three counts of child abuse and conspiracy to commit child abuse earlier this month.
“I want to first thank the members of the jury for their time and effort in reaching a just conclusion for the horrific and senseless murder of Ame,” said County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “Jonathan Allen, along with his wife, Sammantha, received the only proportionate penalty that could rightly be imposed for the torture and pain they put Ame through. Ame deserved so much more from the adults responsible for her care,” Montgomery added.
On July 12, 2011 police were called to a south Phoenix home after Ame was found dead inside a plastic storage box, a place the four adults who lived with Ame claimed she liked to hide. They told investigators the young girl must have fallen asleep inside the box night before.
Later it was determined John and his wife Sammantha Allen forced Ame into a small plastic box almost one-half her height, as punishment for taking a popsicle out of the refrigerator, and left her in an uncooled garage locked inside the box overnight where she died from suffocation. Ame was found with her clothes wet, almost an inch of fluids from her body pooled at the bottom of the box. Her fingernails and ankles were turning purple, her lips were blue and pulling away from her teeth and her small hands were raised, frozen into a claw position. Investigators discovered Ame was often subject to painful punishments and poor living conditions by the adults in the home, which included her father, grandmother and her cousins.
Sammantha Allen received the sentence of death in August for her role in Ame’s murder. Cynthia Stoltzmann, who was Ame’s legal guardian and aunt, was sentenced to 24 years in prison and lifetime probation in September 2013 after pleading guilty to two counts of child abuse and one count of attempted child abuse. Judith Deal, Ame’s grandmother, was sentenced in September 2013 to 10 years in prison and lifetime probation after pleading guilty to two counts of attempted child abuse. David Deal, Ame’s father, was sentenced in June 2013 to 14 years in prison for attempted child-abuse.