Child with autism locked in bunk bed ‘cage’ up to 12 hours a day, Missouri cops say

A Missouri mom and her wife are accused of locking a 9-year-old child inside a cage built into a bunk bed, police say.

Sometimes, the child was locked up for 12 hours at a time, police said.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office went to the couple’s Maysville home with child welfare investigators to check on possible abuse and neglect of the child, according to a news release.

Deputies found the floor was “matted” with animal feces and contained urine stains, police said. Cigarette butts littered the ground, the kitchen had cockroaches and the front porch was covered in trash, which made walking difficult, police said.

They found the “cage” in the child’s bedroom, according to the release. The bunk bed had 2-by-4 pieces of wood attached vertically and a plywood door to the keep the child from escaping, police said. It contained only a sleeping bag, no mattress.

The mother and her wife both told investigators they left the child locked in the cage for up to 12 hours a day. The mother said she left the residence while the child was locked up “numerous times” over several months, according to the release.

Katrina England, 35, who is the child’s mother, and Debra England, 39, are charged with felony child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.

The child was taken into the care of child protective services.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Child with autism locked in bunk bed ‘cage’ up to 12 hours a day, Missouri cops say."