Kentucky Parents Accused of Trapping Non-Verbal Kids in Closet Where They Clawed Walls Bloody Trying to Escape, Cops Say

A mother and father in Richmond, Kentucky, were arrested after authorities said they locked their non-verbal autistic sons inside a bedroom closet. Investigators said the children, ages eight and nine, had bloody fingers from attempting to claw their way out.

Authorities were led to the residence after receiving a tip from the family's former landlord.

Stephanie Harmer, 36, and Casey Farthing, 41, were 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, according to Law&Crime.

The couple, who also have a five-year-old daughter, are being held at the Madison County Detention Center.

On March 9, the couple’s former landlord called Richmond police and said the former tenants left his Saddlebrook apartment complex in “deplorable conditions”. He alleged they caused about $2,500 damage to the property.

Fox56 reported that officers found the roach-infested home littered with dirty diapers, dried food, and human waste. Authorities said the couple had allegedly moved out a week before officers arrived.

Investigators later visited the couples new apartment, which was in better condition but still contained scattered trash and feces.

During the investigation at the new home, officers found the doors having a secondary locking system accessible only from the outside. The bedroom closet had bloody walls and drywall that appeared to have been clawed from the inside.

Investigators also noticed one of the children had dried blood on his hand and a broken fingernail.

According to an arrest citation, one of the children said, “Mommy and daddy lock the boys in the closet when they’re bad”.

Harmer told authorities she was overwhelmed by the condition of the house and stopped trying to clean it.

She said that all the children wore diapers and never brushed their teeth. Harmer claimed the closet already had a lock even before they moved in, but the landlord refuted that claim, according to court documents.

The children were removed from their care.

In an unrelated incident in Evansville, a mother was arrested after allegedly placing her one-year-old son in an unsafe sleeping environment that resulted in his death. Amirah Moodie, 25, has been charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

According to the arrest affidavit, the child’s bedroom had a Pack ‘n Play crib with an “oversized mattress placed inside”. “The mattress went from one end of the Pack ‘n Play stretching across to the other end. The excess was folded and wedged against the side of the crib making an L-shape. An oversized waterproof sheet was located inside the crib and collected,” according to the affidavit.

“The sheet was lined with an impermeable rubber-type backing. The sheet was unsafe and created a suffocation hazard.”