Children found malnourished and locked inside dog kennel at Texas home

Sheriff’s deputies found two malnourished children locked inside a dog kennel and another two children, who also exhibited symptoms of abuse, at a home in Texas early Tuesday morning, police said.

Authorities were responding to reports of domestic violence at a residence in Wise County when they made the disturbing discovery after 7:20 p.m., according to the Wise County Messenger. A man and a woman, both 24, were at the home in Rhome, located about 50 miles outside Dallas.

According to Sheriff Lane Akin, the man’s face was covered in scratches when authorities arrived on the scene. While officers were speaking with the pair about the potential family violence, they heard children inside.

A search of the property turned up four children between the ages of 1 and 5. The oldest two were locked inside a dog cage, police told the Messenger.

“The others appeared malnourished, covered in urine and feces,” Akin said. “There was food in the house, but it was locked up where the kids couldn’t get it.”

They were all transported to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth for evaluation and the 24-year-old male was also taken to the hospital for the wounds on his face. The woman meanwhile was taken into police custody on a family violence charge.

Akin said the suspects, who have not been identified, are facing four counts each of endangering a child.

The domestic abuse case echoes an incident that unfolded in California just more than a year ago. In January 2018, a 17-year-old girl managed to escape through a window in her Perris home and phoned authorities in the early hours of the morning.

She claimed that she and her 12 siblings were being held against their will by their parents, would often leave them shackled and taunt them with food. When authorities arrived at the residence, which has since been dubbed “The House of Horrors,” they found the brothers and sisters cramped together in filthy rooms, most of them severely malnourished and underweight.

Their parents, David and Louise Turpin, were arrested shortly after and charged with nearly 50 counts of child abuse, torture and false imprisonment.