An Indiana couple has been charged with murder and neglect after their two-year-old son, Erik Reichard, died from severe malnutrition while living in what police described as deplorable conditions in Tell City, Indiana. According to a press release from the Tell City Police Department, officers responded on Tuesday (March 31) to a report of a small child not breathing at a home on Guttenburg Lane.
The child’s father, Trevor Reichard-Hayes, 39, told dispatchers that his wife, Katherine Carter, 31, had found Erik unresponsive and brought him downstairs. Emergency crews performed CPR, but Erik was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said he had likely been dead for several hours before their arrival.
Investigators learned that the last time the parents had seen Erik alive was at about 11 p.m. the previous night—approximately 14 hours before they called 911. Police described Erik as extremely skinny, weighing only 15 pounds—about half the expected weight for a child his age and height—and covered in more than 40 sores or bug bites.
Katherine Carter told police that Erik had been eating pieces of his diapers, which investigators believe was due to extreme hunger. An autopsy found that the boy’s system contained material matching drywall, paint chips, and diaper fragments.
When officers searched the home, they found unsanitary conditions in the children’s bedrooms—including feces on the floor, an abundance of drywall debris, dirt, pieces of diapers, and insects. A training toilet in one bedroom was filled with human waste and appeared not to have been cleaned for days or weeks.
Due to the home’s condition and evidence of neglect, authorities removed two other children from the residence. One child was hospitalized for severe malnutrition and dehydration.
Both Reichard-Hayes and Carter are being held at the Perry County Detention Center. They face charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, and neglect of a dependent. Their initial court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
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