Ceani Barnes
An Atlantic City woman accused of fatally beating her girlfriend was a victim of the real abusers, her attorney claims.
Ceani Barnes, 22, is charged with aggravated manslaughter in the death of Christina Burdette.
The 35-year-old mother was found unresponsive Oct. 10, inside 2127 Sheridan Ave. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her children, ages 6 and 3, were inside the home, but it is unclear what they saw, Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Ruffenach told the judge.
Barnes was ordered held in jail Monday, after a detention hearing that gave a little more insight into the victim's death, and named the people who were inside the home at the time.
Both agree that Burdette was a victim of abuse. But who administered that abuse is in question.
Defense attorney Alex Settle painted a picture of an abusive home in which both women were victimized by Barnes' sister, Jeanai Barnes, and the woman's boyfriend, Larry Huggup.
When police were called to the home Oct. 10, they found Burdette unresponsive near the door with bruises to her head and body.
The three inside at first told police Burdette came home injured, which was Jeanai Barnes' idea, Settle said.
It later was determined that Burdette had been suffering abuse at the home, with an especially brutal beating with a broom the day before her death.
Those inside the home told investigators that they had bandaged the victim, but no one called police.
The autopsy found not only did she die from complications of multiple blunt-force trauma injuries with chronic abuse, but she had prior injuries, including broken bones that had healed.
Ceani Barnes was not the abuser, Settle insisted, but also was a victim with a diminished mental capacity who was easily manipulated.
She was forced to shave her head and was limited on what she was allowed to eat, he claimed.
Barnes has no criminal history, including no juvenile adjudications, he pointed out.
There also is no physical evidence linking Barnes to the crime, he said.
The broom is not listed among the evidence items seized from the home.
The defense's investigator was not able to find the couple.
It was not clear if the state is looking for them, or if either could be charged with any crime.
Judge Dorothy Garrabrant found that the state's charges mixed with worry that Barnes may not show up to court were enough to order her held.
Barnes now will remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility pending the outcome of her case.
(NOTE: This story originally ran Oct. 17, 2025. It has been updated to include the detention hearing.)
