MADISON, KY - A mother and father allegedly locked their nonverbal children inside a closet despite the kids clawing until their fingers were bloody as they tried to escape.
The parents, 36-year-old Stephanie Harmer and 41-year-old Casey Farthing, have both been charged with first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 years of age or under, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and first-degree criminal mischief of a residential rental property, Law & Crime reported.
Harmer and Farthing were both booked into the Madison County Detention Center. A landlord in Richmond contacted the Richmond Police Department (RPD) after discovering that former tenants had left their apartment in "deplorable conditions," according to an arrest report reviewed by WDKY.
The former residents, Harmer and Farthing, allegedly caused nearly $2,500 in damage to the home. Police arrived at the apartment and found evidence of more than just damage. The home was filled with cockroaches, dirty diapers, and human feces, police said.
Doors inside the apartment had locks on the outside and inside a bedroom closet, officers found bloody walls with drywall that they said appeared to have been clawed from the inside.
Police interviewed Harmer and Farthing and learned that the married couple had lived in the home with their sons, ages nine and eight, and their five-year-old daughter. The boys have autism and are non-verbal. Kentucky Child Protective Services got involved and the young girl spoke with them.
She allegedly "freely" offered the information that "mommy and daddy lock the boys in the closet when they're bad." Authorities examined the children and found that one of the child's fingers were covered in dried blood and that the child had a broken nail.
While the parents claimed the lock on the closet door was like that when they moved in, the landlord said that was not correct. Police reported additional signs of neglect, including that none of the children had ever brushed their teeth and that they all still wore diapers. Harmer and Farthing were arraigned in court on Monday, March 9.
The parents, 36-year-old Stephanie Harmer and 41-year-old Casey Farthing, have both been charged with first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 years of age or under, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and first-degree criminal mischief of a residential rental property, Law & Crime reported.
Harmer and Farthing were both booked into the Madison County Detention Center. A landlord in Richmond contacted the Richmond Police Department (RPD) after discovering that former tenants had left their apartment in "deplorable conditions," according to an arrest report reviewed by WDKY.
The former residents, Harmer and Farthing, allegedly caused nearly $2,500 in damage to the home. Police arrived at the apartment and found evidence of more than just damage. The home was filled with cockroaches, dirty diapers, and human feces, police said.
Doors inside the apartment had locks on the outside and inside a bedroom closet, officers found bloody walls with drywall that they said appeared to have been clawed from the inside.
Police interviewed Harmer and Farthing and learned that the married couple had lived in the home with their sons, ages nine and eight, and their five-year-old daughter. The boys have autism and are non-verbal. Kentucky Child Protective Services got involved and the young girl spoke with them.
She allegedly "freely" offered the information that "mommy and daddy lock the boys in the closet when they're bad." Authorities examined the children and found that one of the child's fingers were covered in dried blood and that the child had a broken nail.
While the parents claimed the lock on the closet door was like that when they moved in, the landlord said that was not correct. Police reported additional signs of neglect, including that none of the children had ever brushed their teeth and that they all still wore diapers. Harmer and Farthing were arraigned in court on Monday, March 9.
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