Queens couple accused of kidnapping, burning maid due in court

BAYSIDE (WABC) -- A Queens couple accused of torturing a maid will be back in court Monday.

Prosecutors say Devanand and Ambar Lachman of Bayside, along with a third suspect, kidnapped, beat and burned 54-year old Daisy Machuea after accusing her of stealing.

The third suspect, described as six feet tall with a medium build, is still on the loose.

The incident happened around 1 p.m. on February 13 inside a home on 217th Street in Bayside.

Authorities say Machuea, who works as a maid in the house, was held against her will and burned while repeatedly being struck in her body with an unknown object.

Authorities say that some jewelry had gone missing prior to this incident.

Machuea's scars from where she was burned with a torch are starting to heal now, but the doctor says she still has to worry about infection.

She said a man used a portable torch to burn her legs and set her hair on fire, and said she was also stabbed and beaten. For two months, Ms. Machuea had been a housekeeper at the home. She said she was cleaning there when the couple came home with another man and the three demanded $8,000 in cash and a necklace they claimed she had stolen.

The men allegedly kept her at the home while the wife went to the maid's home in Port Washington to search for the necklace and cash, but she was unable to find them.

They allegedly forced her into a car and brought Daisy to her own home in Port Washington, where, her roommate claims, they assaulted him too. "He told me if I didn't have the money, I'll kill you, I'll kill her too," said the friend, Oscar Ramirez.

Devanand Lachman. 32, and his pregnant wife, 31-year-old Ambar are charged with assault, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

Police say the three held Daisy against her will and struck her, using an unknown object, possibly a plumber's torch, to singe her eyebrow and burn her shin. Finally under duress, she "admitted" to the theft.

They left her at her home in Port Washington, authorities say, and the victim notified Port Washington police at 10:15 p.m. She had numerous bruises, burns and abrasions to her body and was treated at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn.

The NYPD then went to the house and arrested the husband and wife on February 14 at 1 p.m.

Devanand Lachman was ordered held without bail, while Ambar Lachman was released on $50,000 bail, which she has posted.

The couple has retained a lawyer, as detectives try to determine the identity and their connection to the third person.

The suspect is described as a dark-skinned male, 30 to 35 years old, approximately 6-foot-tall with a medium build.

The search for the third suspect is ongoing.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).