Child Abuse and Neglect

Police in Tell City, Indiana, have charged Trevor Reichard-Hayes, 39, and Katherine Carter, 31, with murder and neglect after their 2-year-old son, Erik Reichard, was found dead on March 31 weighing just 15 pounds in what detectives described as deplorable living conditions. According to a probable-cause affidavit, the parents waited roughly 14 hours after last seeing Erik alive around 11 p.m. to call 911 at 1:20 p.m. the next day, and officers arriving at the home said the child was blue, pale, "extremely skinny" and appeared to have been dead for several hours. Investigators say Erik had been eating pieces of his diapers and drywall, with an autopsy finding diaper gel and material consistent with drywall and paint chips in his colon, and the affidavit alleges he was severely malnourished and dehydrated due to neglect. Officers reported children's bedrooms littered with feces, diaper fragments, drywall debris, and insects, and a training toilet full of days- or weeks-old waste, while the parents' bedroom was described as clean and well-kept with made bed and no extreme clutter. Two other children in the home were removed, including one hospitalized for severe malnutrition and dehydration, as the case fuels online outrage over child protective systems and how such conditions went undetected.