Left to right: Braxton Blevins and Emily Katz (Jasper County Jail).
A Missouri couple is accused of nearly starving their 1-year-old son to death, allegedly failing to feed the special-needs toddler despite ample food in the home, with the father blaming their failures on smoking pot and “falling asleep.” Braxton Blevins and Emily Katz were taken into custody earlier this week and charged with one count each of child abuse and one count each of child endangerment, records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officers with the Carthage Police Department on March 1, 2025, responded to a call from Children’s Mercy Hospital regarding a 1-year-old male juvenile who had been admitted with “severe malnutrition, starvation, recurrent infections, and failure to thrive.”
Medical personnel told authorities the victim had been hospitalized multiple times in his short life for similar conditions.
“In each instance, when placed under hospital-supervised care and fed according to the prescribed protocol, the juvenile gained weight and improved,” the affidavit states. “Hospital staff stated this demonstrated the victim’s medical complications were treatable with proper care and nutrition, which Blevins was trained on and said he was providing.”
Despite the couple claiming that Blevins had been providing their son with proper care at home and following the prescribed feeding plan, officers said they recovered between 10 and 20 unused bags of the victim’s “Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN)” that was stored in the family’s refrigerator. One bag of TPN, required daily, delivers nearly 80% of the child’s required total daily caloric intake.
The bags were administered through a central line feeding tube.
“The presence of excess TPN supplies indicated the juvenile was not receiving the prescribed nutrition,” police wrote.
While hospital staff told authorities that both parents had completed the medical training required to care for their son’s nutrition needs, but said that each subsequent time the victim was hospitalized, neither parent was “consistently unable to explain the home care provided or account for the juvenile’s weight loss and deteriorating condition.”
The hospital’s safety, care, and nurturing team concluded that there was sufficient evidence that the victim was consistently missing feedings and that his repeated hospitalizations were “the result of Blevins’ neglect.”
In an interview with investigators, Blevins allegedly admitted he was aware that his son had “critical medical needs” that included the daily feeding bag. He also admitted to “missing multiple feedings, particularly during the final month of care, due to marijuana use and falling asleep,” the affidavit states.
“Blevins confirmed that during the 94 days the juvenile victim was in his custody, the child lost approximately 5.5 pounds, while corresponding medical records show the victim consistently gained weight when hospitalized and cared for by medical staff,” police wrote. “Blevins admitted he recognized he could not meet the victim’s medical needs, but continued custody due to fear of losing rights to their other child.”
Katz told police that she had struggled with maintaining cleanliness in their home and “acknowledged improper care” of the victim, his central line, and his feeding tube.
When advised of the charges she was facing, Katz “offered no reasonable explanation for the failures in care and terminated the interview,” police said.
Both parents were arrested and released after posting bond, under the condition that they have no contact with juveniles under age 18. They are scheduled to appear in court on May 28 for their arraignments, court records show.
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