Nyani Ngabu
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- May 15, 2006
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Utah Mom Allegedly Locked 12-Year-Old Son in Bathroom For Over a Year and Starved Him: ‘Like a Horror Movie’
A Utah mom faces child abuse charges for allegedly locking her 12-year-old son in a pitch-black bathroom of her home for at least one year, PEOPLE confirms.
The boy, now under the care of physicians, was allegedly so malnourished he weighed only 30 pounds and was incapable of standing on his own, Washington County Sheriff’s Lt. David Crouse tells PEOPLE.
Likening his alleged living conditions to a “torture chamber,” Crouse believes the boy might have been in the bathroom of the Toquerville home for two years.
“It was like a horror movie you expect to see out of Hollywood,” Crouse says. “It was a small bathroom with feces and urine all over the floor.”
In addition, authorities allege the bathroom’s lights were kept off, with the switches secured in place under several layers of duct tape.
On Monday, police charged the boy’s mother, Brandy Jaynes, 36, with felony child abuse. Crouse says that the boy’s condition is improving. Doctors have yet to deliver a prognosis on his recovery time.
“We are just at the tip of the iceberg here as far as how and why this happened and how it will affect the child long term,” Crouse says, noting his department’s investigation continues. “We want to interview everyone involved. We don’t want to miss any angle on this.”
Detectives found a wireless camera in the bathroom and allege Jaynes used it to monitor the boy through an app on her smartphone.
There was also a baby monitor inside the bathroom, allegedly so Jaynes could relay instructions to her child. Police found empty cans of beans and a spoon in the shower and allege the shower’s drain was also sealed with duct tape.
A Utah mom faces child abuse charges for allegedly locking her 12-year-old son in a pitch-black bathroom of her home for at least one year, PEOPLE confirms.
The boy, now under the care of physicians, was allegedly so malnourished he weighed only 30 pounds and was incapable of standing on his own, Washington County Sheriff’s Lt. David Crouse tells PEOPLE.
Likening his alleged living conditions to a “torture chamber,” Crouse believes the boy might have been in the bathroom of the Toquerville home for two years.
“It was like a horror movie you expect to see out of Hollywood,” Crouse says. “It was a small bathroom with feces and urine all over the floor.”
In addition, authorities allege the bathroom’s lights were kept off, with the switches secured in place under several layers of duct tape.
On Monday, police charged the boy’s mother, Brandy Jaynes, 36, with felony child abuse. Crouse says that the boy’s condition is improving. Doctors have yet to deliver a prognosis on his recovery time.
“We are just at the tip of the iceberg here as far as how and why this happened and how it will affect the child long term,” Crouse says, noting his department’s investigation continues. “We want to interview everyone involved. We don’t want to miss any angle on this.”
Detectives found a wireless camera in the bathroom and allege Jaynes used it to monitor the boy through an app on her smartphone.
There was also a baby monitor inside the bathroom, allegedly so Jaynes could relay instructions to her child. Police found empty cans of beans and a spoon in the shower and allege the shower’s drain was also sealed with duct tape.
