Katie Koch, on the left, and Joel Manke, on the right, inset against an image of a boarded-up window of their residence in Wisc. in July 2023. (Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office; Screengrab via WISN)
A Wisconsin mom and the man she lived with are facing numerous criminal charges over the alleged neglect and yearslong imprisonment of her two young boys who were confined to a nightmarish Milwaukee house where they were hardly raised at all.
“It’s really terrible; it’s like something out of a horror movie,” Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis said in court on Monday. “The children were essentially confined to their room for much of their lives. And the door had a latch on the outside and the windows were boarded shut. I have finally been able to view videos and photographs of the home and I can tell you that almost every inch of their walls was covered in human feces.”
Katie Koch, 34, stands accused of two felony counts each of chronic neglect of a child, false imprisonment, and two misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime. Her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, stands accused of two counts each of chronic neglect of a child, and false imprisonment.
On July 13, Milwaukee Police Department District 3 Officers responded to numerous 911 calls about two boys – later determined to be 7 years old and 9 years old – who were naked, running through South 71st Street, covered in blood, feces, bruises, and red marks. One caller told police that a woman “yanked” one of the boys back inside.
“I’m not going to ever forget the way they looked when they came running out of that house – never forget that,” neighbor Chris Eder, who called 911, told local ABC affiliate WISN. “The look on their faces was pure bewilderment. They were just looking all around. They could not – I don’t think they’d ever been outside before.”
An officer was flagged down by Milwaukee Deputy Fire Chief Schuyler Belott and then police made contact with Koch, the complaint says.
“There were a number of neighbors outside pointing to the house and waiting to see if the kids were okay,” the complaint reads. “The information given to officers was that the woman violently dragged the child back into the house.”
MPD Officer Jonathan Cruz described the mother as “flustered and anxious,” writing that she was “continuously pacing and swaying her body and appeared agitated” and “overall disheveled.”
According to the complaint, Koch told Cruz that her father had just died and that her children had broken one of the windows. Cruz then told the mother that he needed to see the children, the complaint says, and made his way inside the residence, which he described as a “terrible hoarding situation.” The officer said he had a “difficult time seeing the floor” and saw Koch putting a diaper on one of the boys.
While being asked by law enforcement about one of the boy’s apparent injuries, the mother allegedly grabbed her son “with both hands and stated that she was scared,” the complaint says.
Additional officers then arrived and removed the younger boy from the residence. Meanwhile, Koch gathered clothes for each of the naked children, according to the complaint, repeatedly saying: “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so afraid.”
The complaint goes on to detail the inside of the house:
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KOCH walked CRUZ through the remainder of the residence. CRUZ observed the kitchen piled with trash and garbage as well as the living room. The smell of urine and feces filled the residence. Next to the bathroom was the children’s room. There was a mound of trash and garbage outside of the children’s room. The door was half way opened and a greater amount of urine and feces smell became present as CRUZ approached the room. The children’s room had feces smeared all over the walls of the room. There was also a latch to lock the door from the outside of the kid’s room.
KOCH stated that the substance on the walls of the room was “Clay, paint, and chocolate.” CRUZ indicated that the substance on the walls of the room was feces and the room smelled of feces and urine.
Five neighbors are cited in the complaint, identified by their initials, and described various information about the children.
One neighbor told police that one of the naked boys had been wandering down the sidewalk like a “caveman.” Another neighbor said they witnessed one of the children escaping through the broken bedroom window, then standing on top of an AC unit, and finally, but unsuccessfully, trying to climb a fence. Yet another neighbor said they hadn’t seen the children leave the house in some three years.
As officers left the house, Manke was there standing in the driveway, the complaint says. The male defendant told police that Koch and her children had been living with him for some three-and-a-half years and went on to describe himself as something like a “step dad” to the children, according to the complaint.
Manke allegedly went on to admit that he was the one who boarded up the window to the children’s room to “keep the children from bothering the nosey neighbor.” He also told police Koch uses the latch “to lock the kids in the room overnight to keep them from wandering due to” the boys’ alleged “autism,” the complaint says.
A Mirandized interview with Koch’s boyfriend followed. Manke would allegedly tell investigators “he knew how the children were living was not right” but had to “pick his battles” with Koch so as to “avoid arguments.” Police say Manke also said that “he never contacted police or schools to report the children because he doesn’t believe in doing that to family members.”
During her own Mirandized interview with police, Koch allegedly vacillated on various points including by claiming that her children were home-schooled – but lacked a proper curriculum. She also allegedly said she didn’t want her boys to “lose the stability” they have – but admitted she “f–––––– up” and that they deserve better.
As for the educational state of her children, the boys’ mother allegedly said one of them could trace letters and read “small words” while another was “learning how to put sentences together in proper form.” She also told Cruz that they use “educational apps” on their tablets and that she recently purchased Hooked on Phonics.
“Koch was informed that her children’s head had to be shaved at the hospital because it was full of matted feces and Koch said that was okay because they needed a haircut and ‘yeah whatever they need to do,”” the complaint concludes. “Koch stated the last time the boys had been bathed was on Sunday (5 days prior). Koch stated that she bathes the boys but the bathing wasn’t as thorough as it should have been. Koch admitted that the home is not habitable. Koch wrote a three page apology letter to the boys.”
On Monday, Koch had her bail set at $30,000 cash; Manke’s bail was set at $6,500 cash, according to local CBS affiliate WDJT. Their next court appearances are currently slated for July 26.
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