A Pennsylvania couple allegedly beat their 6-year-old daughter, starved her for days and kept her tied up and locked in a dog cage at night, authorities said.
Jacob William Weight Sr., 37, and Mimi Ann Frost, 33, were arrested last week following an “extensive investigation” that began when Pennsylvania State Police officers were first dispatched to the home of the couple in Brownsville County on Jan. 7, authorities announced.
Weight had called 911 that day, reporting that her infant daughter went limp and apparently suffered a seizure when one of the five other children in the house attempted to bathe her.
When police later arrived at the scene, they found the suburban home in “deplorable condition,” with feces strewn across the floor and the smell of urine and trash strewn about.
The couple’s nephew, who lived in the home along with their children, told officials that the girl had been locked in a dog cage every night and forced to eat dog food.
Investigators found evidence suggesting the girl “could not get out of the cage” and was “punished” every time she went out to get food, Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele told KDKA.
“For lack of a better way to put it, she had been tortured in that house,” he said.
Jacob William Weight Sr., 37, was arrested last week. Mimi Ann Frost, 33, was also arrested after an “extensive investigation.”
Weight did not allow first responders to enter the home and instead removed the girl himself, the district attorney said.
She was covered in open sores and large bruises, and appeared to have been malnourished, KDKA reports.
When he arrived at Uniontown Hospital, he was found to be hypothermic and his body temperature was only 88.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
The girl also reportedly had broken and rotted teeth, swollen feet, and had not received pediatric care in more than three years, according to a medical report obtained by the Observer-Reporter.
Police also noted in an arrest report that doctors at the hospital “stated multiple times… that she could have died as a result of this egregious abuse and neglect, and that if she returned to her current environment, she would likely die from the abuse.” and carelessness.”
Police who arrived at the couple’s home in Brownsville Parish on Jan. 7 reported that it was in “deplorable condition” with feces strewn across the floor and the smell of urine and trash scattered around. WTAE
During the subsequent investigation, police said Weight and Frost’s nephew described how the girl’s mother tied her hands and feet, locked her naked in the cage and refused to wash her.
The teen said the floor under the dog’s cage was deteriorating because the boy’s feces and urine were never cleaned up.
Another child inside the home told officers that the couple wanted the girl to eat their own waste, according to WTAE.
She was never enrolled in school, but once told a therapist that she was forced to eat dog food and sleep in the crate every night.
He also said his father once shot him in the legs with a BB gun and told police his parents “popped my head open a couple of times with a lighter,” according to court documents obtained by the Observer-Reporter. .
To make matters worse for the young woman, Aubele said investigators found evidence that “at least some” of the other children participated in the abuse.
During a subsequent investigation, police said Weight and Frost’s nephew described how the girl’s mother tied her hands and feet, locked her naked in the cage and refused to wash her. WTAE
He suggested some of the children, who range in age from 5 to 17, may also face charges.
“It seems like they were raised with the notion that this… girl… deserved it,” he told WTAE.
Police are still trying to figure out what led the parents to abuse the girl and not the other children in the home, Aubele said, calling their actions “incredibly callous.”
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“The boy was tortured and we really don’t understand why,” he said.
“What his parents did to him was absolutely horrible,” Aubele added to KDKA. “It’s amazing that a parent can treat a child this way.”
Weight and Frost are now charged with aggravated assault, corruption of minors, strangulation, endangering the welfare of children and simple assault.
Seven of their pit bulls were taken to Animal Control on Friday and all of the children were also removed from the home.
Children and Youth Services had taken the couple’s children at least once before, according to Weight’s brother, Rodney.
“Listen, he did that to his kids,” Rodney told KDKA, saying he loves his brother to death.
“He and his wife deserve what they get. They will answer before a jury on this.”
But Weight insists she is innocent and claims she never locked her daughter in the box.
Both he and Frost have been denied bail, according to jail records, and are due back in court on Feb. 20.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn