A mother and stepfather of a 9-year-old Alabama boy were arrested after the child was hospitalized on Saturday for possible starvation.
Hospital staff contacted Colbert County police regarding the 9-year-old boy — who was bruised and reportedly weighed 37 pounds. Police learned that the child had been living in a tent for a couple of weeks with his mother and stepfather, Deja-Ariaha Bankhead, 27, and Demariez Mitchell, 28, according to WHNT.
In addition to being malnourished, the boy reportedly had blood coming from his ear and maggots sticking out from different parts of his body.
Bankhead and Mitchell reportedly have two younger children, including a 3-month-old. Colbert County Department of Human Resources has custody, according to AL.com.
Reports indicated that the boy was moved to a hospital in Birmingham due to the nature of his injuries. WAAY reported that he is expected to make a full recovery.
“Based on what I am being told from my investigators, the child was in organ failure when he arrived to children’s hospital in Birmingham,” Colbert County Sheriff Eric Balentine told the news outlet.
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Balentine claimed that the family came to the area for work and when that work fell through, the family ended up moving from campsite to campsite.
Bankhead and Mitchell were charged with aggravated child abuse. They both remain jailed on $50,000 bond.
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[Featured image: Deja-Ariaha Bankhead and Demariez Mitchell/Colbert County Sheriff’s Office]
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