'This was torture': Boy malnourished, kept in closet
By Sheila K. Stogsdill The Oklahoman
BRAGGS - For longer than he can remember, a 4-year-old boy subsisted on ramen noodles and a makeshift oatmeal mixture and endured beatings and handcuffs, all for wetting the bed, investigators said Monday. "This was torture," said Tim Brown, a Muskogee County sheriff's detective, who called it "the worst child abuse case I've ever seen."
The boy weighed 26 pounds when he was found June 25.
Gore police responding to an anonymous tip of neglect found the child malnourished and severely beaten. Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson said the child was staying with his aunt, Sharon Smith, who was later charged in Sequoyah County in connection with the case. She is free on bail, he said.
Sheriff's deputies later searched the Smith residence in Braggs, finding a dilapidated trailer with no electricity or running water. The home had a large hole in its roof, and its bathroom contained a trash bag for holding human waste, Brown said.
The child's mother, Melanie Smith, 24, and her half-brother, Roy Albert Smith, 20, are being held without bail in the Muskogee County jail.
They are charged with child abuse, neglect and child endangerment.
"People knew this was going on and did nothing to stop it. There should be a lot of people in jail," Pearson said.
When investigators found the boy, he had "bruises upon bruises" all over his body plus open wounds on his feet, the result of dropping two, 2½-pound dumbbells.
Brown said the boy told him his punishment included being forced to hold the weights above his head. When his arms weakened, he would drop the weights on his head and feet, the child told Brown.
He said the boy told him his mother eventually taped the weights to his hands and put a football helmet on his head.
In the first few days after his rescue, the boy walked with a small cane and had patches of hair falling out, Brown said. In the month he has spent in foster care since then, the boy has gained 9 pounds, Brown said.
He said the boy told him he was forced to pick up boulders, and when he could not, he was handcuffed and tied up.
Brown said when he searched the house, he found no children's toys or books, simply one stuffed animal. When arrested, Roy Smith was carrying $1,600 in cash.
The Smiths face a Nov. 10 preliminary hearing.
When investigators asked the boy how much time had passed since he'd had a bath, he couldn't recall, Brown said.
They also asked him if his family had ever celebrated his birthday, and he said no.
"He didn't know what Christmas was," Brown said.
The boy told investigators his mother would hit him in the side of his face with a closed fist, and that he was kept in a closet most of the day.
"He looked like he was from a third-world country," Brown said.
The kitchen's cupboards were bare, but Brown said he found plenty of dry and canned dog food, plus shampoo and vitamins for the Smiths' two dogs.
"The dogs were in better health than he was," Brown said.
http://newsok.com/article/1561355/?template=home/main
By Sheila K. Stogsdill The Oklahoman
BRAGGS - For longer than he can remember, a 4-year-old boy subsisted on ramen noodles and a makeshift oatmeal mixture and endured beatings and handcuffs, all for wetting the bed, investigators said Monday. "This was torture," said Tim Brown, a Muskogee County sheriff's detective, who called it "the worst child abuse case I've ever seen."
The boy weighed 26 pounds when he was found June 25.
Gore police responding to an anonymous tip of neglect found the child malnourished and severely beaten. Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson said the child was staying with his aunt, Sharon Smith, who was later charged in Sequoyah County in connection with the case. She is free on bail, he said.
Sheriff's deputies later searched the Smith residence in Braggs, finding a dilapidated trailer with no electricity or running water. The home had a large hole in its roof, and its bathroom contained a trash bag for holding human waste, Brown said.
The child's mother, Melanie Smith, 24, and her half-brother, Roy Albert Smith, 20, are being held without bail in the Muskogee County jail.
They are charged with child abuse, neglect and child endangerment.
"People knew this was going on and did nothing to stop it. There should be a lot of people in jail," Pearson said.
When investigators found the boy, he had "bruises upon bruises" all over his body plus open wounds on his feet, the result of dropping two, 2½-pound dumbbells.
Brown said the boy told him his punishment included being forced to hold the weights above his head. When his arms weakened, he would drop the weights on his head and feet, the child told Brown.
He said the boy told him his mother eventually taped the weights to his hands and put a football helmet on his head.
In the first few days after his rescue, the boy walked with a small cane and had patches of hair falling out, Brown said. In the month he has spent in foster care since then, the boy has gained 9 pounds, Brown said.
He said the boy told him he was forced to pick up boulders, and when he could not, he was handcuffed and tied up.
Brown said when he searched the house, he found no children's toys or books, simply one stuffed animal. When arrested, Roy Smith was carrying $1,600 in cash.
The Smiths face a Nov. 10 preliminary hearing.
When investigators asked the boy how much time had passed since he'd had a bath, he couldn't recall, Brown said.
They also asked him if his family had ever celebrated his birthday, and he said no.
"He didn't know what Christmas was," Brown said.
The boy told investigators his mother would hit him in the side of his face with a closed fist, and that he was kept in a closet most of the day.
"He looked like he was from a third-world country," Brown said.
The kitchen's cupboards were bare, but Brown said he found plenty of dry and canned dog food, plus shampoo and vitamins for the Smiths' two dogs.
"The dogs were in better health than he was," Brown said.
http://newsok.com/article/1561355/?template=home/main
