A mom of two is facing multiple felony charges after her children were reportedly discovered wandering outside naked, alone, and covered in blood, bruises, and excrement. A criminal complaint was filed against Katie Rae Koch, 34, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, alleging that her kids, ages 7 and 9, were severely neglected and living in squalor. Her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, is also facing multiple charges.
The complaint accuses Koch of keeping her children locked in a bedroom for years. A neighbor reportedly alerted police that they had seen "two naked juveniles … walking around the neighborhood with blood on them," on July 13, prompting an investigation that led to a search of the home.
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The children reportedly escaped, but Koch caught up to them.
"There were a number of neighbors outside pointing to the house and waiting to see If the kids were okay," the complaint reads. "The information given to officers was that the woman violently dragged the child back into the house."
One neighbor said they saw a child walking "like a caveman."
An officer responding to the scene reported that he could hear what sounded like a "quieted cry or whimper," as he approached the house from the outside. Koch then exited the home, appearing "flustered and anxious."
Koch is accused of lying to police about what was going on.
An officer could hear Koch on the phone with a male to whom she said, "“I'm standing outside in the driveway right now, are you almost home so you can help explain what's going on, I love you, I love you.”
Koch then reportedly told the officer that her father had just died and her children had broken the window, at which point, the officer said that he would need to go inside and see the child. Police identified no lacerations consistent with cuts from glass on the children.
Daily Beast reports that Koch's father, Jeffrey Koch, is not dead. The media outlet called his home and he answered the phone, but hung up without commenting.
The family was reportedly living in squalor.
The officer who searched the home reportedly said it was a "terrible hoarding situation." He "observed the kitchen piled with trash and garbage as well as the living room. The smell of urine and feces filled the residence," the complaint reads. "Next to the bathroom was the children’s room. There was a mound of trash and garbage outside of the children's room. The door was half way opened and a greater amount of urine and feces smell became present as [the officer] approached the room. The children's room had feces smeared al over the walls of the room. There was also a latch to lock the door from the outside of the kid's room."
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Koch's boyfriend said they locked the boys up because of 'their autism.'
When police exited the home, Manke was reportedly in the driveway. During questioning, he revealed that Koch and her children had lived with him for about three and a half years and said that he boarded up the kids' windows to keep them from "bothering the nosey neighbor."
He also admitted that Koch would lock them in the room overnight to keep them from wandering because of "their autism." He also told police that the children had never been to school and that he'd never known Koch to take them to a doctor.
"Manke stated that he knew how the children were living was not right but he had to ‘pick his battles' with Koch to avoid arguments," the complaint reads. "Manke stated that he never contacted police or schools to report the children because he doesn't believe in doing that to family members."
Neighbors claim they didn't even know Koch had children.
Neighbors who witnessed the incident said that despite their age, the children were seen wearing diapers when they escaped the home. At least one neighbor told police they were not even aware there were children living at the residence in question.
"I'm not going to ever forget, the way they looked when they came running out of that house, never forget that," neighbor Chris Eder told WISN. "They didn't have any clothes on. None. Their hair was, you know, it just had looked like it had never been brushed. Their faces was pure bewilderment. They were just looking all around. I don't think they'd ever been outside before."
The prosecutor described the scene as 'something out of a horror movie.'
"These children have been horribly damaged from their mother’s actions. They are completely uneducated. They are not potty trained, even at their ages. They are, essentially at this point, unable to function in society," Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis said in court. Davis also said it was like "something out of a horror movie."
Both Koch and Manke are currently in jail and facing multiple felony charges. Koch's bail is set at $35,000 and Manke's at $6,500. Each could receive a sentence of up to 44 years if convicted, according to Daily Beast.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
