The Pasco County, Florida police reported that two parents from Spring Hill were arrested on Monday on charges of child abuse after one of their children set fire to the mattress in an effort to escape the “deplorable” bedroom. The police were called to the house while investigating reports of arson.
While the couple had six children, only one was often locked in the bedroom without any natural light or electricity. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Department stated that the window was boarded up from the inside and the door to the bedroom was locked from the outside and a board nailed to the exterior door frame. Allegedly, the police found urine and feces on the walls and floor of the room. There were no toys or games and no other furniture in the room.
It is reported that one of the five sisters of the victim passed the box of matches to the child from under the door of the bedroom. The boy then set the mattress on fire.
The parents, 36-year-old Kelley Davis and 37-year-old Daniel Davis, have six children ranging in age from an infant to a 10-year-old. The five girls were treated well, with toys and electricity and seemingly normal home lives. This child was the only one regularly being locked up without power since March, at least.
The pair admitted to locking the boy in when he misbehaved or at night, for 11 to 12 hours. The names of the victim and the other children have not been revealed to protect their identity.
Sheriff Chris Nocco stated, “What these individuals did was just evil. Pictures will never give justice to what this child went through, you don’t see the bugs and you’ll never feel the emotional neglect he felt.”
Neighbour, Tara Bowen, who lives right across the street from the Davis family and has been in the neighbourhood for 23 years, said, “That’s ridiculous, I’m repulsed, that’s disgusting.”
Kelley and Daniel Davis have each been charged with “one count of aggravated child abuse” and all six of their children, who were found within the house, are in protective custody.