An arrest affidavit obtained from a sheriff’s office in Texas revealed new allegations against a couple accused of locking their children in a cage, allegedly up to two days at a time.
Angelina County deputies arrested Joshua Turner and Courtney Parish on March 5, on charges of child endangerment and possession of methamphetamine. Lieutenant Alton Lenderman said the outstanding warrants for child endangerment came from an ongoing child protection services case.
According to an arrest affidavit related to the case, a detective was contacted by CPS concerning reports that Turner and Parish locked their two children, ages 4 and 5, in a cage in their home.
The detective said upon arriving at the home, he noticed “the inside of the residence and outside property was disgusting,” according to the affidavit. The detective also received photographic evidence of a homemade cage inside what he believed was the room the children stayed in.
“The material to make the cage is ‘welded wire fencing,’” the affidavit states. “The shape of the cage is in the shape of a square. The cage has two walls and a roof. The wiring is in a form of smaller squares, which makes it nearly impossible to escape. Inside of the cage there is a small mattress and a pink, training potty chair.”
The detective also noted there was an outer lock on the children’s bedroom door.
Lenderman said the children called the cage a “jail cell.” Investigators said the children told them during a CPS interview that they were once kept in the cage for two days, and often fed only two pieces of bread and water while being held in the cage.
One of Parish’s relatives also admitted to investigators he witnessed Parish and Turner lock the children in their room with a lock on the bedroom door. He added that he only saw the children being fed once a day, according to the arrest affidavit.
“This is a very horrible case,” Lenderman has said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that the suspect’s in this case are brought to justice and everything in our power to make sure these children are safe.”
The Angelina County Sheriff’s Office and CPS are both handling this investigation.
