Brenda Deutsch, Winfield, Missouri foster mother accused of trading her adopted young teen daughter for a monkey. Woman is alleged to have kept exotic animals and having taken care of over 200 foster children over the years. Case opened after victim complained of beatings and no longer turning up to school.
A foster mother in Missouri has been accused of trading an adopted daughter to someone for a monkey along with mistreating other children in her care.
Brenda Deutsch from Winfield, Missouri, following her arrest over the weekend was charged with child abuse and endangerment and remained jailed on a $US250,000 bond.
Lincoln County officials said the case against the 70 year old woman who has fostered children for a decade was ‘just the tip of the iceberg.’
Lincoln County prosecutor Mike Wood speaking to reporters on Wednesday said the the woman had been a foster or adoptive parent to about 200 children over a span of more than a decade.
The child in this case was fostered and eventually adopted by Deutsch and had been in her care for at least four years.
While the affected child was no longer in her possession, prosecutors sought to move against the foster parent on account of another two children still in Deutsch’s care.
‘It’s going to be a large investigation, and it will take some time,’ Wood said according to FOX2Now.
His office wrote in seeking a cash-only bond that authorities had received information that some of the children in Deutsch’s care suffered physical and emotional abuse similar to the teen at the center of the case.
The girl told authorities she was beaten with wooden trim, shoes and a paddle, according to a probable cause statement filed with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The girl said she tried to tell people what was happening but that no one believed her.
Missouri foster mom to more than 200 arrested for child abuse—trading child for exotic monkey.
Brenda Deutsch drove foster child to Texas to exchange her for exotic monkey in a form of human trafficking—a teacher reported her missing.
200 children lived with her over 19 year… pic.twitter.com/HGLkifpbbq
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) April 9, 2025
Court documents indicate an anonymous call was made to social services in November alleging abuse. Authorities say the Winfield School District reported excessive absences involving the child in February.
A deputy from the sheriff’s office who was working as a school resource officer in Missouri began to investigate the girl missing classes. While investigating, the deputy was told of a rumour that the girl was traded for an exotic animal to someone in Texas, KSDK reported.
A missing child report was then filed by the school, according to Wood.
The deputy asked authorities in Texas to check on the girl. Child welfare officials in Texas located the girl and took her into protective custody. The girl was doing well in a group home there according to Wood.
Wood said the suspect and the woman whom the girl was staying with in Texas knew each other because both own exotic animals. He said two witnesses came forward and said they were asked to take the girl to Texas and return with a monkey.
He said investigators are trying to firm up if that was just a joke or if it was actually a trade. Do you suppose?
‘There’s some smoke there,’ Wood said. ‘We just got to find out if there’s fire, and it’ll take us some time. But there’s at least two witnesses who are coming forward saying that that was the case. As crazy as it sounds, we’ve had a few human trafficking cases in the past, so we’re treating it seriously.’
According to the probable cause statement, the girl said the woman she was staying with in Texas worked out of town and left her for days at a time to take care of exotic animals. The victim whose age wasn’t released said she wasn’t subjected to forced labour or sexual abuse.
During police questioning, the foster parent told a detective the suspect was friends with the girl’s adoptive mother (aka Deutsch) and took her in to give the pair a break from each other. The girl stayed there for over a month, Wood said. When authorities interviewed the woman, she said she no longer wanted the girl there, only for the girl’s mother refusing to make arrangements to bring her home, according to the probable cause statement.
Charging documents describe the girl’s living conditions there as unsanitary and said she was inadequately supervised.
No lawyer was listed for the 70-year-old in online court records. The 1500-person town Winfield is about 72km north-west of central St Louis.
The case has raised questions about the efficacy of foster caring and adoption.
‘If there was some type of failure in the system, where was it and how can we fix it,’ Wood said.
However, he encourages victims to contact his office at (636) 528-6300.
Prosecutors have indicated more charges, including human trafficking were expected.
