Sheriff: Child's Skeletal Remains, 3 Abandoned Siblings Found In Apartment

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


October 25, 2021 at 5:09 am

HOUSTON (AP) – The skeletal remains of a child, and three surviving siblings who appear to have been abandoned, were found inside an apartment in the Houston area, a sheriff said.

One of the children, a 15-year-old, called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday afternoon and told authorities that his 9-year-old brother had been dead for a year and the body was inside the apartment, the office said in a statement.

Deputies responded and found the teen, and two other siblings ages 10 and 7, living alone in the apartment, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters. The other child’s skeletal remains were also located.

“It appears that the remains had been there for an extended period of time. And I emphasize extended,” Gonzalez said.

The sheriff said it also appeared that the surviving children were “fending for each other,” with the oldest sibling caring for the younger two. It was unclear whether any of the kids were attending school.

Read more: https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2021/10/25/sheriff-childs-skeletal-remains-3-abandoned-siblings-found/

[bucolic_frolic]

1. How did they survive for a year, albeit underfed?

No one noticed? Where did they get food?

[CurtEastPoint]

2. "Mom" and "boyfriend" located; I guess they at least paid the rent and fed them? Shameful.

[70sEraVet]

3. Homeschooled?

[Historic NY]

4. Pro-life f--king Texas.

[Skittles]

15. pouring money into prisons, not social programs

disgusting

[Farmer-Rick]

5. During Jesus' day and age.

It was common practice to throw unwanted newborns onto the trash heap, most of them were girls. If you "rescued" one of these helpless babies, you had a slave for life, or you could pretend they were your child.

I think this is where Texas is heading.

[wnylib]

6. How could the dead child be there

for a year without being reported?

[marie999]

8. I guess after a period of time it stops smelling.

[wnylib]

9. But in the end, it was one of the surviving kids

who called police. How did thst not happen sooner? There is a LOT missing from this story.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. The other kids may not have known it was there.

[packman]

7. Texas and Florida

America's armpits

[Jilly_in_VA]

11. What the actual fcuk?

Another story I read said the mom was released from custody after questioning? WHY???? Someone needs to be charged with murder by neglect, child endangerment, and a whole lot of other things. The pictures of the outside do not exactly look like a tenement either. Where were the neighbors?

Oh, I forgot. This is TEXASS, where the life of a child only counts until it is born.

[BadGimp]

12. Dear God!

[Frustratedlady]

13. How did they have a roof over their heads without money to pay rent?

Did they have to scrounge garbage tubs to find food? Major questions flood my brain.

[SWBTATTReg]

14. A horrible story...my heart goes out to the kids...this is where TX needs to step up and ...

take care of these kids in a full, sustaining, and caring manner. I suspect that w/ Abbott, this won't happen but maybe w/ this horrible story in the airwaves, he and his state administration will be in the spotlight in providing the care and support for these 3 kids.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. A bit more on timing - neighbors had been feeding the kids for months

On Sunday, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said a 15-year-old boy at the CityParc II at West Oaks Apartments called and said his brother had been dead for a year in the room next to his. He also told deputies that his mom hasn't been back in months, leaving him and his two other brothers, ages 7 and 10, alone.
...
Neighbors said the 15-year-old relied on them for food. Chapman said she knew something was wrong because his mother was rarely home, so she started giving him food six months ago.
...
Meanwhile, ABC13 learned the mother and her boyfriend lived in an apartment just 15 minutes away in Westchase. On Monday, after the couple was questioned and released by the Harris County Sheriff's Office, ABC13 ran into the couple. They rolled up their window and quickly drove off.
...
Back at the apartment complex where the boys lived with their brother's corpse, another neighbor, Trevor Thompson, said he would also provide the teen with food. He described the teen as paranoid and said he was afraid of getting poisoned, which is why he would only accept certain food.

https://abc13.com/abandoned-children-houston-9-year-old-dead-skeletal-remains-found-citypark-11-at-west-oaks/11167108/

It seems the neighbors (some, at least) were only aware of the oldest boy. They hadn't been going to to school for a couple of years (but, since Covid, I guess there may have been many families like that). The oldest had a phone - and texted his mom to say he couldn't take it anymore, before calling the police.

Amazing the adults were let go. You'd think they're a flight risk, and surely charges will be brought. Seems like there's enough to charge them with some kind of neglect, and put official restrictions on them (ankle bracelets?).

[Kid Berwyn]

17. "He texted mom to say he couldn't take it anymore."

Heartbreaking cruelty to children.