A Tennessee couple was arrested on child abuse charges after authorities discovered they locked a seven-year-old autistic child in a storage chest in their disgusting, feces-covered home.
Mikki Dee Moody, 36, and Sean David Moody, 39, were charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect and child endangerment after investigators searched their Elizabethton home on Thursday in connection with an unrelated case, WCYB reported.
When investigators arrived at the home and met both Mikki and Sean Moody and the 7-year-old child, they discovered that the child has autism and cannot speak, the report said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation took Sean David Moody into custody on a warrant for abuse of a vulnerable adult.
Investigators conducted a search of the home and discovered unsanitary living conditions, including wall outlets with exposed wires and animal and human feces on the floor, the report said.
A storage chest containing urine-soaked blankets, a pillow, a half-eaten pizza and “clothing containing a substance similar to blood” was found in the living room, the sheriff’s office said.
According to investigators, the child was locked in the chest with food.
Both Mikki and Sean Moody were taken to the Carter County Detention Center on Thursday.
Mikki Moody was released from custody on $75,000 bail.
