Inset, left to right: Arturo Bazan-Perez and Dulce Crystal Bazan Castillo (Oakland County Sheriff's Office). Background: The hospital where the couple brought their son, who nearly starved to death (Google Maps).
A father and stepmother in Michigan are accused of abusing and nearly starving their young children to death while keeping them locked up in their room nearly all the time.
Arturo Bazan-Perez and Dulce Crystal Bazan Castillo were taken into custody over the weekend and charged with two counts each of first-degree child abuse and two counts each of torture.
The child abuse and torture charges are both punishable by up to life in a state correctional facility.
According to a news release from the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office, the case against the couple began when a 9-year-old boy suffered "cardiac arrest due to malnutrition" and was admitted to Trinity Hospital in Pontiac. The hospital is about 25 miles northwest of Detroit.
Doctors said the victim, who weighed just 33 pounds when he arrived at the facility, was suffering from liver failure. He also had several additional injuries on his body that were said to be "consistent with abuse."
The victim did not have a pulse when he arrived at the facility and his condition was so severe that he had to be airlifted to another hospital for more specialized care, Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ reported.
The victim's 11-year-old brother was also brought to the hospital. He too was "severely malnourished," weighing just 43 pounds.
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"The victims, the biological children of defendant Arturo Bazan-Perez, reportedly stated they received less food than their two younger siblings, who are the biological children of both defendants Arturo Bazan-Perez and defendant Dulce Bazan," the release states. "The victims had been reportedly removed from school in September because the family allegedly told school officials they were moving."
The couple's biological children are a 1-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl, both of whom were living in the home but appeared healthy, officials said.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard told Bay City CBS affiliate WNEM that he had backed legislation that he believed could have helped the victims soon after they were pulled out of school.
"The child abuse cases we are seeing right now are nothing short of heartbreaking and enraging," he told the station. "In this case especially, the suffering these children endured might have been stopped sooner had the legislation I called on the Legislature to pass been enacted — a simple, common-sense safeguard that would prevent a child from being unenrolled from school without verified confirmation of their safety and status elsewhere. No child should ever fall through the cracks like this. We will not rest until those responsible are held fully and unequivocally accountable."
Authorities said school officials were likely aware that the victims were having difficulties at home because the children were found digging through the school trash for food on several occasions, WXYZ reported. However, after the kids were sent home with food, the parents reportedly responded by sewing their pockets shut. The parents then allegedly took away the victims' backpacks after finding they were attempting to sneak food into the home in the bags' linings.
Inside the home, authorities said the boys' windows were screwed down so they could not be opened and the glass had been painted over so they could not see outside.
"It's unconscionable that anyone, let alone parents, would willfully starve children," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said in a statement following formal charges against the couple. "The allegations in this case are horrifying. My thoughts right now are with these children and the caregivers working to help them recover from what appears to be a nightmare situation."
Detroit Fox affiliate WJBK reported that both victims were in stable condition as of Tuesday.
The defendants are currently scheduled to appear in court for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 4, records show.
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