Left: Richard Heitz. Right: Patricia Heitz (LaPorte Sheriff’s Office).
The adoptive parents of a 13-year-old boy in Oklahoma have been arrested for allegedly forcing the child to stay in a camper outside of the house for up to 10 days at a time with no toilet as a form of punishment before eventually leaving the child at a psychiatric hospital and refusing to pick him up after he was discharged.
Patricia and Richard Heitz were taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with two counts each of neglect of a dependent — abandoning or cruelly confining a dependent, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the Department of Child Services (DCS) began investigating the parents after receiving a report on July 5, 2024, alleging that the victim was being neglected and abused. The report stated that the victim and his two younger siblings “get ‘whoopings’ with belts and paddles on their buttocks.”
It was also alleged that the victim was forced to “eat lumpy oatmeal with vinegar” and sleep “outside in the family’s camper during the winter months with no working heat or utilities” as forms of punishment.
On July 6, the Heitzs brought the victim to the Memorial Epworth Center, a psychiatric hospital for adults and adolescents ages 13 and above, where he was placed on a one-week hold.
Later that day, the parents told DCS that the boy’s mental health had “deteriorated” over the last six months and that they “did not want him around the other two children in the home due to his ‘aggressive’ tendencies.”
The parents denied physically abusing the victim and said that all of the children had been made to sleep in the camper at some point, saying he was “in no danger.” Both parents also stated that they did not want the victim to return to the home and “acknowledged the consequences of refusing” to allow him back.
The other two children in the home both denied being physically abused by their parents, but said the victim made them feel “unsafe.”
In an interview with a child services investigator that same day, the victim said he did not like his adoptive parents, but conceded that they were “good people.” He also reiterated claims of being beaten and forced to sleep in the camper.
The Heitzs were again the subject of neglect allegations on July 12 and 13 because the victim had been discharged from the hospital and they refused to pick him up.
“Richard and Patricia were aware of the consequences for such action, and still did not make alternative arrangements,” the affidavit states. “Patricia gave her reasoning as having to protect the other children.”
The parents claimed the victim needed more help than they could provide, though they had not sought to enroll him in therapy services or seek medication to manage his behavior. They reiterated that they would not be letting him back into the home.
“Patricia said she and Richard intended to terminate their parental rights, and ‘There’s nothing you can do about it,’” the affidavit states. “Further, Patricia stated she and Richard already made a plan for the other two children should they be arrested.”
In a subsequent interview with a forensic professional, the victim claimed that in addition to being beaten, other punishments included the withholding of food and doing hard labor outside for up to eight hours at a time. He further claimed that he would sometimes have to stay alone in the camper for more than a week, at least twice when there was snow on the ground.
“[The victim] said the camper didn’t have electricity or heat,” the affidavit states. “He said there was a bathroom, but he wasn’t allowed to use it, and instead had to use grocery style bags.”
The Heitzs were both released after posting bonds of $15,000. The couple appeared in court for their initial hearings Friday morning.
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