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Indiana 4-year-old starved to death by parents weighed JUST 25 pounds when he was found dead covered in bruises

Jacob Davis, 28, and his girlfriend Michelle Key, 34, were arrested after the former's son died in their mobile home
PUBLISHED JUN 20, 2020
Jacob Davis, Michelle Key (Henry county jail)
Jacob Davis, Michelle Key (Henry county jail)

NEW CASTLE, INDIANA: A couple in Indiana were charged with murder and neglect of a dependent after the man's four-year-old son was found dead - covered in bruises and weighing just 25 pounds. Jacob Davis, 28, and his girlfriend Michelle Key, 34, were arrested this week after the former's son was found dead in their mobile home. According to information from New Castle police and the Henry County prosecutor, the child, Darien Davis died in January. The autopsy report listed the causes of death as dehydration, malnutrition, and neglect. The autopsy further determined that there was bruising all over the child's body and one eye was swollen shut.

Davis called police officials to the couple's home after he said he discovered his child to be unresponsive in the living room. After the first responders arrived at the house, they performed CPR on the child. Darien was pronounced dead at the scene. After that, the medics said that the victim had been dead for quite a while, the Indy Channel reported.

In addition, the probable cause affidavit stated that the mobile home, where four other children lived with Davis and Key, was in poor condition. There were "numerous amounts of cat and dog feces throughout the trailer," the document stated. Authorities also described the boy as “extremely pale, extremely thin to the point his knees were extremely large when compared to the legs” with “cuts, abrasions, and bruising over most of his body. Most notable was a cut over his right eye and the eye appeared swollen shut.” At the time of his death, the victim was 3’3″ tall and weighed just 25 pounds. 

Earlier this week, the suspects appeared before the court and pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Their next court hearing is in August and a trial has been set for September.

Earlier this month, we reported that a six-year-old boy was locked inside a cupboard for a whole month as a punishment for stealing food. He weighed just 18 lbs and starved to death, an autopsy reveals. The child's parents, 26-year-old Elizabeth Archibeque and 23-year-old Anthony Martinez, and grandma, Ann Martinez, 50, were all charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and child abuse. 

All three family members have pleaded not guilty in the death of Deshaun Martinez. An autopsy report released this week showed that Deshaun had died due to starvation with the manner of death being ruled as a homicide. The child reportedly had the same weight as a baby and looked 'skeletal' and almost zero body fat and brittle hair. The authorities revealed that they had responded to the apartment where Deshaun lived with his family on March 2 and found the child lying unresponsive on the living room floor. 

The police released a statement and said, "The physical appearance of the six-year-old child did not compliment his age, appearing malnourished." Deshaun was pronounced dead at the scene and could not be revived by medical personnel.

Initially, his parents blamed his malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting caffeine pills. They later confessed to the authorities that they had kept Deshaun and his seven-year-old brother inside a closet for around 16 hours a day and would feed both of them very little. The two children were locked up between 8 pm and 12 pm to the next day when they were given some oatmeal. Around four hours later, the boys were allowed to eat a cheese sandwich. It seemed their younger sisters who are aged four and two were not at all malnourished. 

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