‘Girl in the Closet’ Preview: Tami Roman Gives Off Bad Vibes (Exclusive Clip)

Girl in the Closet (Credit: Lifetime)

Girl in the Closet tells the story of a woman who takes in her niece and commits unspeakable crimes.

Based on real events, the Lifetime movie follows 10-year-old Cameron, who is placed in the custody of her aunt Mia (Tami Roman), when the child’s mother Patricia (Remy Ma) suffers an aneurysm.

Mia is a convicted killer, but sadly, overworked social workers overlook her record and give her custody of Cameron.

As the little girl settles in at her new home, she is locked in the basement with other victims of her aunt’s schemes to enrich herself by cashing their benefit checks. With no food or water, only her faith keeps Cameron alive before she is finally rescued.

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In the above clip,  Mia (Tami Roman) shows up unannounced at Cameron’s birthday party before she gains custody of the little girl. Patricia knows Mia is bad news and tells her to go away.

“You got a lot of nerve showing up here,” Patricia says.

“Why so much venom to someone bearing gifts?” Mia says. “I’m her family. I love her too. I mean, nobody’s perfect Patricia.”

Mia is far from perfect and when Patricia falls ill, she seizes the opportunity to collect foster care checks for her niece.

The film also stars Brielle Oliver and Daijah Peters as Cameron at different ages, alongside Danielle LaRoach, Stevie Baggs Jr., and Teisha Speight.

The movie is produced by Swirl Films. Abbey MacDonald, Eric Tomosunas, Courtney Miller and Rob Hill serve as executive producers. Jaira Thomas directs from a script by Sa’Rah Jones.

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Girl In The Closet premieres Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.

The movie is part of the network’s “Ripped From The Headlines” franchise. While the story is not based on a particular family, some of the details are similar to the true story of Lauren Kavanaugh, who the media called “The Girl in the Closet.”

Lauren was held captive in her family’s Texas home from ages 2 to 8.  She was beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted by her mother and stepfather. In 2001, a neighbor alerted authorities to horrors taking place at the home of Barbara and Kenneth Atkinson and Lauren was finally rescued. The couple was eventually convicted of felony injury to a child and sentenced to life in prison. After she turned 18, Lauren sat down on Dr. Phil to detail her ordeal, and said the trauma from what happened still haunted her.