Accounts of Delphine LaLaurie's treatment of the enslaved people that she kept slaves between 1831 and 1834 are mixed.
Harriet Martineau, writing in 1838 and recounting tales told to her by New Orleans residents during her 1836 visit, claimed enslaved people kept by LaLaurie were observed to be "singularly haggard and wretched;" however, in public appearances LaLaurie was seen to be generally polite to black people and solicitous of the health of the enslaved people that she kept.

Funeral registers between 1830 and 1834 document the deaths of twelve enslaved people at the Royal Street mansion, although the causes of death are not mentioned.
These twelve deaths include Bonne, a cook and laundress, and her four children, Juliette (c. 1820–February 21, 1833), Florence (c. 1821–February 16, 1831), Jules (c. 1827–May 29, 1833), and Leontine (c. 1829–August 26, 1831).
Bonne (c. 1803–February 7, 1833) had previously belonged to a refugee from Saint Domingue and was described in her sale as "a chronic runaway"; with an influx of white and free colored Saint Dominguen refugees and enslaved people that they kept, the fear of enslaved people from Saint Domingue still lingered in Louisiana.

Court records of the time showed that LaLaurie freed two of the enslaved people that she kept (Jean Louis in 1819 and Devince in 1832).
Martineau wrote that public rumors about LaLaurie's mistreatment of enslaved people that she kept were sufficiently widespread that a local lawyer was dispatched to Royal Street to remind LaLaurie of the laws for the upkeep of enslaved people that she kept.
During this visit, the lawyer found no evidence of wrongdoing or mistreatment of enslaved people kept by LaLaurie.

Martineau also recounted other tales of LaLaurie's horrifying abuses of the enslaved people that she kept that were current among New Orleans residents in about 1836.
She said that, subsequent to the visit of the lawyer, one of LaLaurie's neighbors saw one of the enslaved people that she kept, a girl of about eight years, fall to her death from the roof of the Royal Street mansion while trying to avoid punishment from a whip-wielding LaLaurie.
The body was subsequently buried on the mansion grounds.
Jeanne DeLavigne, in her 1945 account, gave the child's age as twelve years and gave her a name, Lia (or Leah).
Later writers elaborated on the case, saying that Lia had been brushing Delphine's hair when she hit a snag, causing LaLaurie to grab a whip and chase her.

According to Martineau, this incident led to an investigation of the LaLauries, in which they were found guilty of illegal cruelty and forced to forfeit nine of the enslaved people that they kept.
These nine enslaved people were bought back by the LaLauries through an intermediary relative, and returned to the Royal Street residence.
Similarly, Martineau recounted stories that LaLaurie kept her cook chained to the kitchen stove, and beat her daughters when they attempted to feed the enslaved people that she kept.

On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out in the LaLaurie residence on Royal Street, starting in the kitchen.
When the police and fire marshals got there, they found the cook, a seventy-year-old woman, chained to the stove by her ankle.
She later said that she had set the fire as a suicide attempt because they all wanted to die because she could not live in those conditions any more.
She said that the enslaved people taken to the uppermost room never came back.

As reported in the New Orleans Bee of April 11, 1834, bystanders responding to the fire attempted to enter the quarters of the enslaved people to ensure that everyone had been evacuated.
Upon being refused the keys by the LaLauries, the bystanders broke down the doors to the quarters of the enslaved people and found "seven slaves, more or less horribly mutilated ... suspended by the neck, with their limbs apparently stretched and torn from one extremity to the other", who claimed to have been imprisoned there for some months.

One of those who entered the premises was Judge Jean-Francois Canonge, who subsequently deposed to having
Accounts of Delphine LaLaurie's treatment of the enslaved people that she kept slaves between 1831 and 1834 are mixed. Harriet Martineau, writing in 1838 and recounting tales told to her by New Orleans residents during her 1836 visit, claimed enslaved people kept by LaLaurie were observed to be "singularly haggard and wretched;" however, in public appearances LaLaurie was seen to be generally polite to black people and solicitous of the health of the enslaved people that she kept.
Funeral registers between 1830 and 1834 document the deaths of twelve enslaved people at the Royal Street mansion, although the causes of death are not mentioned. These twelve deaths include Bonne, a cook and laundress, and her four children, Juliette (c. 1820–February 21, 1833), Florence (c. 1821–February 16, 1831), Jules (c. 1827–May 29, 1833), and Leontine (c. 1829–August 26, 1831). Bonne (c. 1803–February 7, 1833) had previously belonged to a refugee from Saint Domingue and was described in her sale as "a chronic runaway"; with an influx of white and free colored Saint Dominguen refugees and enslaved people that they kept, the fear of enslaved people from Saint Domingue still lingered in Louisiana.
Court records of the time showed that LaLaurie freed two of the enslaved people that she kept (Jean Louis in 1819 and Devince in 1832). Martineau wrote that public rumors about LaLaurie's mistreatment of enslaved people that she kept were sufficiently widespread that a local lawyer was dispatched to Royal Street to remind LaLaurie of the laws for the upkeep of enslaved people that she kept. During this visit, the lawyer found no evidence of wrongdoing or mistreatment of enslaved people kept by LaLaurie.
Martineau also recounted other tales of LaLaurie's horrifying abuses of the enslaved people that she kept that were current among New Orleans residents in about 1836. She said that, subsequent to the visit of the lawyer, one of LaLaurie's neighbors saw one of the enslaved people that she kept, a girl of about eight years, fall to her death from the roof of the Royal Street mansion while trying to avoid punishment from a whip-wielding LaLaurie. The body was subsequently buried on the mansion grounds. Jeanne DeLavigne, in her 1945 account, gave the child's age as twelve years and gave her a name, Lia (or Leah). Later writers elaborated on the case, saying that Lia had been brushing Delphine's hair when she hit a snag, causing LaLaurie to grab a whip and chase her.
According to Martineau, this incident led to an investigation of the LaLauries, in which they were found guilty of illegal cruelty and forced to forfeit nine of the enslaved people that they kept. These nine enslaved people were bought back by the LaLauries through an intermediary relative, and returned to the Royal Street residence. Similarly, Martineau recounted stories that LaLaurie kept her cook chained to the kitchen stove, and beat her daughters when they attempted to feed the enslaved people that she kept.
On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out in the LaLaurie residence on Royal Street, starting in the kitchen. When the police and fire marshals got there, they found the cook, a seventy-year-old woman, chained to the stove by her ankle. She later said that she had set the fire as a suicide attempt because they all wanted to die because she could not live in those conditions any more. She said that the enslaved people taken to the uppermost room never came back.
As reported in the New Orleans Bee of April 11, 1834, bystanders responding to the fire attempted to enter the quarters of the enslaved people to ensure that everyone had been evacuated. Upon being refused the keys by the LaLauries, the bystanders broke down the doors to the quarters of the enslaved people and found "seven slaves, more or less horribly mutilated ... suspended by the neck, with their limbs apparently stretched and torn from one extremity to the other", who claimed to have been imprisoned there for some months.
One of those who entered the premises was Judge Jean-Francois Canonge, who subsequently deposed to having
Delphine LaLaurie