Cops Visit After Kids Aren’t In School For Months. When They Spot All Their Toys Piled Outside…

A Pennsylvania couple has been arrested after police uncovered a horrific case of child abuse.

Brandi Weyant, 38, and Joshua Weyant, 33, are in jail following an investigation into their Halifax, Pennsylvania, home.

Neighbors had no idea what had been going on inside the Weyant’s home. As PennLive notes, on the outside, the family’s house looks like any other in the area: a plastic slide and children’s toys scattered around the backyard, along with a dog kennel and a car up on jacks. 

“I knew he’d been through some rough times but he seemed like a good man, or at least that’s the way he portrayed himself,” one anonymous neighbor told PennLive about Joshua Weyant.

Despite the normal appearance of their home, police made a horrific discovery while investigating the family’s home. In the home was a room, in which the Weyants locked their three emaciated children, with little food and no heat.

After police and child welfare investigators made the shocking discovery, the children were taken to Penn State Hershey Medical Center, where doctors say two of the them were “approaching a dangerous and life-threatening condition.” The three children, ages 4, 5, and 6, were reportedly underweight and malnourished. Their skin was covered in dirt, animal hair, urine, and feces. In an affidavit, police wrote that the children “reeked of a strong odor similar to that of caged animals.” 

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle told WPMT that the children, “looked like they had just walked out of a concentration camp.”

Since being found, the children have been placed in the care of a medical professional, who is helping them recover. According to WPMT, the children have been improving every day since being in foster care.

“They are doing much better,” Gettle said. “They are thriving. All three are out of the hospital. All three are out of the hospital and have doubled their weight.”

Investigators say that the Weyants had stopped caring for and feeding the children in September 2016. The children were found in December 2016.

The children told police that they were locked in their room during the night and that they were not allowed to leave. Investigators found hook-and-eye locks on the bedroom door. The children also revealed that they would pound on the door if they needed to use the bathroom, but that if nobody came, they would have to urinate on themselves in the room. 

The children were found with their ribs, spines, and other bones visible through their skin. All three children say that the last thing they remember eating was an apple.

The bedroom in which the children were kept had no heating. The only source of heat in the home was a space heater in Joshua and Brandi’s room. 

“The victims stated numerous times that they were cold, and despite having multiple layers of clothing on, they were physically shivering while being interviewed,” the police affidavit reads. “[A caseworker] provided the children with her coat to keep them warm.”

Now, Joshua and Brandi Weyant have been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy, endangering the welfare of a child, false imprisonment and unlawful restraint, accoridng to PennLive. They were both held in the Dauphin County Prison on $1 million bail each.

In an interview with police, Brandi Weyant said that she did not believe any of the three children were her or her husband’s biological children, though two of the children shared their last name. The mother told police that the oldest girl, identified as SRB, moved in with her when she was 18 months old. She said that the other two children, JTW and HRW, came to live with her and Joshua in January 2013.

“[Brandi] stated that she cared about and wanted the children; however, Joshua didn’t care about JTW and SRB and favored HRW,” the police affidavit reads. “She stated that HRW received special treatment, while the others were punished.”

The affidavit also reads, “She states that Joshua only cared about HR and a [17-year-old] teenage daughter in the residence.”

Court records show that Joshua served time in jail for a felony child rape charge in connection with a 2013 incident. The child rape charge and a count of unlawful contact with a minor were withdrawn in March 2016.

In the affidavit, Brandi stated that “things became bad for the family in March of 2016 when Joshua came back into the home after spending time in jail.” She told police that her relationship with Joshua was good prior to him spending time in jail, but that “things became horrible” when he returned.

Sources: PennLive, WPMT / Photo Credit: James Robinson/PennLive