KY parents charged with abuse locked sons with autism in closet, sibling said
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Parents face multiple felony charges after children found in squalid, unsafe apartments.
- Child told CPS parents locked nonverbal autistic brothers in a closet, police say.
- Children placed in alternative care; parents jailed with bond and barred from supervision.
A Kentucky couple is accused of locking their non-verbal, autistic sons in a closet when they misbehaved, according to court documents.
Casey Farthing, 41, and Stephanie Harmer, 36, of Richmond, are charged with five counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 or younger, two counts of first-degree unlawful imprisonment and first-degree criminal mischief. Court documents say they are married and have three children — two non-verbal, autistic boys, 8 and 9, and a 5-year-old girl.
Police in Madison County were investigating the couple after a landlord reported deplorable conditions at an apartment where they previously lived. Officers went to the parents’ new apartment and found scratches on a wall inside a closet along with smeared blood, according to court documents.
The door to the closet had a lock that was different from other locks on the master bedroom door, the cabinets and refrigerator. According to court documents, a 5-year-old girl told Child Protective Services the parents locked the boys in the closet “when they’re bad.”
Farthing and Harmer denied locking the boys in the closet, according to court documents. They said the lock on the door was there when they moved in, but the landlord denied that claim and was unaware of the scratches and blood on the walls.
The 8-year-old boy had dried blood on two of his fingers, according to court documents. The fingernail on his ring finger was also broken off.
Officers also found feces on the carpet and baseboards and trash scattered throughout the new apartment. Court documents say the conditions were not as severe as the old apartment, which had trash and dirty diapers littered throughout the unit, roaches on the floor and several piles of feces inside a closet and smeared on the walls.
Officials found placement for the children, according to court documents.
Farthing and Harmer were booked into the Madison County Detention Center Saturday on a $25,000 bond each. Court documents say they are not allowed to be in a care taking or supervisory role of any children if they are released.
Farthing and Harmer are scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Madison District Court..
