A Pennsylvania couple allegedly beat their 6-year-old daughter, starved her for days, and tied her up with zip ties and locked her in a dog crate at night, authorities said.
Jacob William Waite Sr., 37, and Mimi Ann Frost, 33, have been together since Pennsylvania State Police troopers were first dispatched to the couple’s Brownsville Borough home on Jan. 7. He was arrested last week after an “extensive investigation” that began, authorities said.
Waite called 911 that day to report that her infant daughter had become limp and had an apparent seizure as one of the five other children in the home tried to bathe her.
Police later arrived at the scene to find the suburban home in a “deplorable condition” with fecal matter on the ground, the smell of urine and litter strewn about.
The couple’s nephew, who lived in the home with the children, told authorities that the girl was locked in a dog box every night and forced to eat dog food.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Ober said investigators found evidence suggesting the girl “couldn’t get out of her cage” and was “punished” every time she went outside to look for food. said. he told KDKA.
“She was, for lack of a better term, being tortured in that house,” he said.
The district attorney said Waite did not allow first responders to enter the home and instead marched the girl away himself.
She was covered in bruises, had extensive bruising and appeared to be malnourished, KDKA reported.
When she arrived at Uniontown Hospital, she was found to have hypothermia, with a temperature of only 88.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
The girl also reportedly had broken and rotten teeth, swollen feet, and appeared to have not received pediatric care in more than three years. Medical report obtained by observer-reporter.
Police also said in the arrest report that doctors at the hospital said, “As a result of this severe abuse and neglect, she may have died, and if she were to return to her current environment, it is likely that she would die from the abuse and abuse.” “I have repeatedly said that he has a high level of sexuality.” forget. “
In the ensuing investigation, police said Waite and Frost’s nephew described how the girl’s mother tied her hands and feet with zip ties, locked her naked in a cage and refused to wash her body.
The boy said the floor under the dog box was deteriorating because the dog’s feces and urine were never cleaned out.
Another child in the home told officers that the couple wanted the girl to eat their own excrement. According to W.T.A.E.
Although she never attended school, she once told a therapist that she was forced to eat dog food and sleep in a crate every night.
She also said her father shot her in the leg with a BB gun and told police that her parents “pried her head open several times with a lighter,” according to court documents obtained by the Observer-Reporter. .
Making matters worse for the girl, Ober said investigators found evidence that “at least several” of the other children were involved in the abuse.
He suggested some children between the ages of 5 and 17 could also be charged.
“They seem to have been raised with the idea that this…girl…deserves,” he told WTAE.
Mr Ober said police were still trying to figure out what led the parents to abuse the girl rather than the other children in the home, calling their actions “incredibly callous”.
“The child was tortured and we don’t really know why,” he said.
“What her parents did to her was really horrible,” Orbel added to KDKA. “It’s amazing that parents can treat their children this way.”
Waite and Frost are currently charged with aggravated assault, corruption of minors, strangulation, endangering the welfare of a child, and simple assault.
Seven pit bulls were taken to animal control on Friday, and all of the children were removed from the home.
Waite’s brother, Rodney, said the couple’s children had been removed by Children and Youth Services at least once before.
“Listen, he did that to his children.” Rodney told KDKA.says that he loves his brother to death.
“He and his wife have what they deserve. They will answer this to a jury.”
However, Ms Waite maintained her innocence, saying she had never locked her daughter in a wooden box.
Both he and Frost were denied bail and are scheduled to reappear in court on February 20, according to jail records.
