Chantel Hayford (Washington County Sheriff's Office).
A Missouri mother has decided to plead guilty to child endangerment after being accused of locking her children up in a "chicken pen," shooting them with "BB rifles" and forcing one of them to "eat caulking." The mom drove one of her children into a "great depression", during which he "ate bugs, leaves, and would steal food," according to police.
Chantel Hayford allegedly teamed up with her boyfriend while tormenting her kids, with cops arresting the couple in January after local authorities executed a search warrant at their home in Potosi and found them there with the children, who spoke to police about the alleged abuse after an investigation was launched in December 2025.
An adult "guardian" came forward and said that Hayford's three children — ages 13, 14 and 17 — "walked into her house" over the summer and "were begging for food," according to probable cause affidavits filed in Washington County.
"The guardian stated they had to walk approximately four miles to get to her house," the affidavits say. "The guardian stated that the mom offered to trade the children to her in exchange for a phone and phone plan that equaled to the amount of $231 (or approximate value of $77 per child)."
Hayford allegedly "signed power of attorney" over to the guardian and had the children move into the guardian's home as part of the aforementioned agreement, though they still would stay with Hayford and her boyfriend Jerry Menees, who is still facing two counts of kidnapping, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of abuse or neglect of a child, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, and three counts of domestic assault.
Hayford was originally charged with two counts of kidnapping, one count of sexual abuse, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of abuse or neglect of a child, and two counts of domestic assault. She changed her not guilty plea this week to guilty for two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, which is a felony.
"The state will cap sentencing at 15 years," a docket entry viewed by Law&Crime states. "Parties are free to argue for a lesser sentence."
After Hayford swapped her guardianship for the phone plan in July 2025, her bill was paid off from July to December 2025, per the affidavits.
"The guardian described when receiving the children in exchange for the phone plan, that the children were severely underweight, according to the doctor's office she took the children to," the affidavits say. "The guardian also said that the children were not ever enrolled in school or educated and therefore could not read or write."
The guardian said Hayford's kids told her about several alarming incidents that occurred while they were living with Hayford, according to the affidavits. One allegedly included having the 17-year-old "cut her hands and spread blood on the trees" near their home.
"The guardian confronted the mother who stated that she did this because of something going on with the animals," the affidavits say.
Another incident involved Hayford forcing the teen to "eat caulking," according to police. It's unclear why she allegedly made her child do this. It happened a day after Hayford grabbed the teen "on the breast area" while telling her, "I made it so I can grab it," per the affidavits.
Police say Hayford and Menees would lock up the children in a "chicken pen" and shoot them with an "air rifle" loaded with BBs. Menees allegedly "screwed the pen shut" while doing this, according to the affidavits.
On one occasion, cops say Menees allegedly pointed a "real" gun at Hayford's 14-year-old and told him he was going to "blow his brains out." He also "almost suffocated him" during another incident while putting him "in a headlock," the affidavits allege.
"[The 14-year-old] also stated that he (Jerry) would punch or slap him on a regular basis," according to the affidavits.
Hayford, meanwhile, would call the teen "worthless and would cuss him," police said. Her 13-year-old also accused Menees of threatening him with a gun.
"I hope he doesn't shoot me because I have a long life to go," the boy recalled thinking to himself while speaking to police about the abuse, per the affidavits.
The 14-year-old allegedly recounted going through a "great depression" during which he "ate bugs, leaves, and would steal food" as a result of the abuse. The boy said Menees and his mom would force him to do drugs, including methamphetamine, and would also have him drink alcohol — Jack Daniel's, allegedly — and eat marijuana edibles.
The home that Menees and Hayford lived in was "very dirty" when police inspected it, with feces on the floor and beds, according to the affidavits. The 14-year-old said that when he first went to see the adult guardian, "his face was covered in feces and that it was cat and dog feces," per the affidavits.
For entertainment, Menees and Hayford allegedly organized "fight nights" where the children were "forced to fight one another," according to police.
Hayford is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 5. Menees is due to appear in court on Sept. 21 for a motion hearing.