Two people have been arrested on child abuse charges in Tennessee after investigators found a 7-year-old autistic boy locked in a storage unit, authorities said.
Mickey Dee Moody, 36, and Shawn David Moody, 39, were charged with child abuse and neglect and child endangerment after investigators executed a search warrant at their home in an unrelated case.
On Thursday, the Carter County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in executing a search warrant on Blevins Hollow Road in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
Investigators arrived at the home and met with the two suspects and the autistic, non-verbal child who lives there.
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Mickey Dee Moody, 36, and Shawn David Moody, 39, are charged with child abuse and neglect and child endangerment. (Carter County Sheriff’s Office)
The TBI arrested Sean David Moody on suspicion of abuse of a vulnerable adult, after which investigators and deputies executed a search warrant and found unsanitary living conditions at the residence.
“During a search of the residence, unsanitary living conditions were noted,” Carter County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Preston White said in a statement. “Exposed wiring was found coming from multiple wall outlets and animal and human waste was found on the floor coverings.”
“Information obtained during the initial investigation led to the discovery of a brown storage trunk in the living room,” White continued. “The trunk contained a urine-soaked blanket, a pillow, a half-eaten pizza and clothing with a substance consistent with blood.”
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Two people were arrested on child abuse charges after investigators learned they had locked a 7-year-old autistic child in a storage unit. (Getty Images)
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Investigators said they learned the child had been locked in a storage trunk with food. Investigators then contacted child welfare officials about their findings.
Mickey Dee Moody and Shawn David Moody were held at the Carter County Detention Center. Mickey Dee Moody was released on $75,000 bail.
The incident remains under investigation.
