4 year old Missouri boy caged in wooden crate for extended times, found unresponsive and suffering extreme malnutrition. Boy’s mother, her boyfriend, grandmother & her boyfriend who all lived at residence arrested.
Four people have been jailed and booked with a slew of charges after a 4-year-old boy was found unresponsive and suffering from ‘extreme malnutrition’ last month at a Missouri home according to police.
Arrested and charged in mistreatment resulted in injuries and ‘extreme malnutrition,’ were the boy’s mother, Dessa A. Barton, 26, her boyfriend, William D. McLendon, 26, the boy’s grandmother, Katherine Kost, 53, along with her boyfriend, Richard A. Hilliker, 52, the Stone County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Investigators told of finding a wooden crate made of pallets at the residence after responding to a 911 call at a home in Billings. Police believe the child was caged inside for lengthy periods of time.
The child was taken to the Cox South Hospital, then airlifted to Kansas City. He was described as being in critical condition. Medical personnel said his injuries were consistent with physical abuse. The four defendant each lived at his home, authorities said.
Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said Friday morning that the child was still in Kansas City but now in stable condition, according to Fox 2 Now.
Jail records reveal, McLendon’s mother, Katherine Kost, who also lived at the home, being arrested on November 11, while her boyfriend, Richard Hilliker, who also lived at the house being jailed on November 19.
During police questioning, the four year old boy’s mother allegedly told a detective that the boy had been hurting himself (eg. clawing at his arms, and banging his head). When asked if she sought medical attention, she allegedly said her attempts to get on Medicaid were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A nurse told detectives that it was not possible for certain injuries to be self-inflicted, officials said.
All four arrested remain at the Stone County Jail on Sunday.
