The parents of twin 2-year-old boys and the mother’s boyfriend have been arrested in Ripley, West Virginia, after police say the children were living in a house of horrors. Michael Gillenwater, Lylee Gillenwater, and Brian Casto, allegedly neglected the children so severely that one of the boys was near death when he was taken to an area hospital, and doctors are still unsure if the child will survive.
The three adults reportedly lived together on different levels of an apartment building, 13 News reported. They allegedly medicated the children for several months and only fed them ground beef and Cheerios under the door of the room they were locked in. The case is reportedly among the worst law enforcement has ever seen.
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One of the twins was found unresponsive.
Jackson County Sheriff Ross H. Mellinger addressed the community via a Facebook Live video on Tuesday. He said the investigation into the child neglect accusation began the evening prior, when one of the twins was taken to Jackson General Hospital. Mellinger said he was transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center’s Women and Children’s Hospital before being airlifted to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.
“The 2-year-old boy was in complete renal failure and was in a very, very dire situation. A quick investigation by the medical staff found that the boy had been in extreme malnutrition,” Mellinger said in the video.
Police were shocked at the children’s home.
Mellinger explained that when police started their investigation, they found the twins were locked in a “hell on earth type situation” in a room in their family’s apartment. He said in the video that the children were allegedly confined for up to six weeks at a time.
A female child also was living in the home. All three were put into the custody of child protective services, he said.
The parents reportedly wanted to sleep.
Through police investigation, Mellinger reported, the parents allegedly medicated the children to make them sleep so the adults would not have to perform parental duties.
Lylee Gillenwater reportedly lived in the basement of the apartment with Casto, and Michael Gillenwater lived upstairs. During that time, Mellinger said the three adults purportedly locked the twins in a padlocked bedroom wearing nothing but a diaper, 13 News reported.
The children were reportedly starving.
Investigators allege the Gillenwaters and Casto gave the children only pieces of ground beef and Cheerios while living in an extremely filthy room.
“The neglect was at such a level that one of the 2-year-olds had lost consciousness and was on death’s door when the notification was made to the sheriff’s office,” Mellinger reported, according to 13 News.
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Authorities are asking for prayers for the children.
Mellinger said it is unknown if the desperately ill child will survive. He implored the community to pray for the children.
“Every time you see an incident like this, it really puts a lot of things in perspective from a law enforcement standpoint. But from a parental standpoint, it’s just amazing to me that animals like this still exist, where becoming a parent is a burden and living in such a nasty environment,” he said in dismay, via 13 News.
“I think it’s fair to say that given the circumstances at hand, the average barnyard animal would probably provide better parental care and nurturing than what these kids were afforded through the three adults living in this home.”
Mellinger said the adults were arraigned on charges related to the neglect case in Jackson County.
