An Arkansas couple has been charged with battery in the apparent abuse of a 7-year-old child who was admitted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital this week “pale, limp, and extremely underweight at just 28 pounds.”
Chris Freeman, 39, and Katelyn Freeman, 27, have also been charged with endangering the welfare of a minor in the ongoing investigation, which could lead to further charges, the Russellville Police Department told KARK.
The Freemans took the boy to Dardanelle Regional Medical Center early Tuesday morning and he was transferred to the children’s hospital. Hospital officials told investigators the child had suffered years of malnutrition and was a “near fatality.”
Investigators found the Freemans’ home “unfit for children,” with a closet where the boy was kept for extended periods — tied up with rope. They found human waste on the closet floor.
Inside the home, they found “plenty of food and several thousand dollars in cash.”
The Freemans admitted they kept the boy in the closet and said they didn’t take him to a doctor “for fear of repercussions and embarrassment.”
Investigators called the abuse “physical and mental torture.”
Online jail records do not list bond information.
