12-year-old boy dies after being chained in bathtub, beaten and restrained with dog collars by father and stepmom
Twelve-year-old Eduardo Posso died on May 24th at the Indiana hospital showing critical signs of starvation, neglect, and prolonged abuse. According to a report by CNN, his 32-year-old father Luis Posso and 25-year-old stepmother Dayana Medina-Flores have both been arrested and charged with murder, negligence, criminal confinement, and battery of a minor.
The kid was supposed to be living in Florida but his death occurred in Indiana. Aurea Garcia, the child's mother, told CNN that she wasn't even aware of her child leaving the state and that she had expected the police were at her home to talk about her gaining the child's custody when they told her of his death. She said that "I thought my son finally spoke out and someone will know and they will help him." She added: "When he told me that I just went crazy. I started screaming. My husband was holding me down."
Posso and the stepmother Medina-Flores were living at a motel with Eduardo during the time and they were working for a traveling circus. A probable cause affidavit revealed that Medina-Flores' phone had a video depicting the kid being restrained by chains in the bathtub. The stepmother also said that his father beat him using belts, shoes, and hands. The father also used electronic dog collars to shock him and they used to monitor him on video. According to court records, the hospital staff had noted bruisings on Eduardo apart from lacerations and ulcers all over his body.
Posso and Garcia separated in 2016. They had four kids, Eduardo, a nine-year-old girl, a five-year-old boy, and a two-year-old boy. Garcia said that after the divorce, Posso had simply taken the kids and didn't return them. She says that she had missed one custody hearing which led to Posso being granted full custody of her kids.
Currently, both Posso and Medina-Flores are being held at Monroe County Correction Center on a $500,000 bond each. The three other kids have been rescued and placed with Child Protective Services. A distraught Garcia hopes that this incident would provoke others to speak up when they encounter kids being abused. She said: "If you see a child no matter where, if you don't know them, if you see they're being mistreated, talk. Don't be afraid you could be saving a kid from the hands that are hurting them."