Two people in Georgia were arrested on child abuse charges after their shoeless and pale 10-year-old son, who weighed just 36 lbs. at the time, was found wandering the street in search of food.
Tyler and Krista Schindley each stand accused of attempted homicide in the second degree and attempted malice murder, officials announced Tuesday. They’re also facing charges including cruelty to children in the first degree, second degree, and third degree, battery, simple battery, and false imprisonment.
The Schindley’s son was spotted on Friday by neighbors, who called out and asked if he was alright. He told them he was trying to get to Kroger’s and that he needed something to eat. Authorities in turn were summoned to the neighborhood in Griffin, but the boy begged them not to send him back home.
Police said the boy was intentionally starved and weighed just 36 lbs. when he was rescued, which is closer to the weight of an average 4-year-old.
“This child was, simply put, being starved to death, and it is tragic,” Griffin District Attorney Marie Broder said during a press conference Tuesday. “I truly believe that if he had not gotten out of that home, this would be a very different case.”
According to warrants obtained by WXIA, the couple caused their son “cruel and excessive physical and mental pain” when they “intentionally withheld food from the juvenile for an extended period of time.” They’re also accused of locking the “child inside his bedroom, leaving the child alone in the residence for extended periods and on multiple occasions, with no access to lights, food, clothing or adult interaction and/or assistance.”
His room lacked “hot or warm running water, [an] outside view, toilet paper, electronic communication, human interaction, adult supervision or access to [an] exit.”
Authorities believe the abuse spanned three years, from May 2020 until the day he was found. An investigation is ongoing.