Amesbury mother charged with beating, threatening daughters
Apr. 2—AMESBURY — A Haverhill Road mother of two girls was ordered held without bail Thursday after a prosecutor told the judge that the mother repeatedly beat them, tried to strangle one and threatened to kill both.
Seriyah Clark, 35, was arrested Wednesday on two warrants for assault and battery of a family/household member charges and brought to Newburyport District Court the next morning for arraignment.
During the arraignment, Essex County prosecutor Michelle Belmonte filed a motion to have Clark held without bail while awaiting trial, claiming she was too dangerous to her daughters and the public to be released on bail.
In defense of her motion, Belmonte spent roughly seven minutes detailing multiple instances over several years when Clark allegedly beat her teenaged daughters with belts and broomsticks.
The younger girl told Amesbury police her mother would hit her in the head so often that she would stop feeling the blows because her head would become numb. Belmonte also said Clark told the girl she would be "6 feet under" if she called the police.
The older daughter said Clark once hit her in the face so hard, her jaw became dislodged.
During another alleged incident, Clark tried to strangle her to the point where her neck became red and swollen, and she was unable to breathe.
The mother also threatened to kill the older daughter if she reported her to police or the state Department of Children and Families, according to Belmonte.
The older daughter also told police that Clark stabbed a boyfriend with a knife and made her help clean up the blood on the floor, Belmonte added.
One daughter eventually reported the alleged abuse to Amesbury police Detective Steven Reed, who investigated, according to Belmonte.
Clark's attorney, Tim Connors, did not argue against the motion to hold her without bail.
Judge William Martin ruled there was enough probable cause to grant the motion and ordered Clark held without bail until a dangerousness hearing Monday in District Court.
Belmonte assured Martin the two teens were in a safe place when the judge inquired.
Clark, wearing a baggy black sweatshirt with a lawn care company's emblem on it and dark pants, remained mostly silent during her appearance and did not address the court.
Dave Rogers is a staff writer with The Daily News. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
