Authorities, neighbors, and the caregiver of one young Missouri boy were shocked in December 2010 to find the conditions he was living in. Now, a trial is underway for a 6-year-old autistic boy named, Josiah who was found by police in the basement of his parent's house living in a feces infested metal cage. Josiah's living conditions consisted of a 3-foot-by-6-foot metal cage, which was secured by bungee cords, plywood, straps, and zip ties. 44-year-old, Victoria and 45-year-old, Terry Smith are Josiah's parents, and claim putting him in the cage was the only way he could be controlled, although witnesses say he was well behaved.
Josiah was typically watched by caregiver, Deondus Towers who claims although he was non-verbal, he was not a difficult child to watch. Towers also testified that there were other forms of mistreatment towards Josiah at the hands of his parents as well. For instance, once she witnessed Josiah's parents cut up food and placing it on the floor next to the dogs bowl for him to eat. Josiah's grandmother was babysitting his other five siblings at the time authorities discovered him in the basement. Everyone was horrified at the conditions surrounding Josiah's living conditions. When police finally took apart his cage, a river of urine came rushing out to everyone's horror. The trial into the case continues Wednesday morning. To learn more about this story, please click here.
The skilled St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Meyerkord & Kurth are dedicated to children's safety, and if your loved one was injured, we can help. Please contact us today regarding your potential child safety case.