Background: The Madison County Detention Center in Richmond, Kentucky (Google Maps). Insets (from left to right): Stephanie Harmer and Casey Farthing (Madison County Detention Center).
A Kentucky mother and father locked their nonverbal children inside a closet despite the kids clawing until their fingers were bloody as they tried to escape, authorities say.
Stephanie Harmer, 36, and Casey Farthing, 41, have both been charged with first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 years of age or under, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, and first-degree criminal mischief of a residential rental property, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. They are both locked in the Madison County Detention Center.
A landlord in Richmond, Kentucky, contacted the Richmond Police Department after discovering that former tenants had left their apartment in “deplorable conditions,” according to an arrest report obtained by local Fox affiliate WDKY. The former residents — Harmer and Farthing — allegedly caused roughly $2,500 in damage to the home.
Police arrived at the apartment and reportedly found evidence of more than just damage. The home was filled with cockroaches, dirty diapers, and human feces, authorities said.
Furthermore, doors inside the apartment had locks on the outside, according to the court document. Inside a bedroom closet, officers found bloody walls with drywall that they said appeared to have been clawed from the inside.
Police interviewed Harmer and Farthing and learned that the married couple had lived at the home with their sons, ages 9 and 8, and their 5-year-old daughter. The boys had autism and were nonverbal, WDKY reported.
Kentucky Child Protective Services got involved, and the young girl spoke with them. She allegedly “freely” offered the information that “mommy and daddy lock the boys in the closet when they”re bad.”
Authorities examined the children and found that one child’s fingers were covered in dried blood and that the child had a broken nail. While the parents claimed the lock on the closet door was like that when they moved in, the landlord disputed this, authorities said.
Police reported additional signs of neglect, including that none of the children had ever brushed their teeth and that they all still wore diapers.
Harmer and Farthing were arrested and booked into the Madison County Detention Center over the weekend. They were scheduled to be arraigned in court on Monday.
