An Indiana couple is accused of chaining their 12-year-old son, taking selfies while he was restrained, and starving him to death. The boy’s father and stepmother, Luis Posso and Dayan Median Flores, were traveling circus promoters and have been arrested for felony neglect.
Eduardo Posso was declared dead shortly after his father brought him to the hospital, covered in bruises and weighing less than 55 pounds.
Though it is unclear when the abuse started, it is reported that the boy had been pulled out of school almost a year ago, along with his other siblings, to travel around the country with Posso and Flores and hand out promotional flyers for the circus.
However, Eduardo is reported to have been excluded from these activities and left in the motel room where the family had been living at the time.
Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain said the boy was often chained in a bathtub. Investigators discovered cellphone videos of the other children “coming and going in the bathroom and paying no attention” to Eduardo. Another cellphone photo showed Posso posing for a selfie with his restrained son.
This is a picture of 12-year-old Eduardo Posso, who police say was restrained with chains in a bathtub in a Monroe County motel by his father and a woman; also placed in a K9 shock collar. He died after signs of abuse and starvation. @WTHRcom pic.twitter.com/TSunz38XwT
— Jennie Runevitch (@JennieWTHR) May 28, 2019
“You don’t even want to leet your mind go to imagine what this child’s thoughts were and what his prospects for his future were,” Swain said.
Since their arrest, Posso and Flores have denied starving Eduardo but admitted to physically abusing him because he “acted up the most.”
They are being held in prison on $500,000 bail and have been charged with three counts of neglect and one count of confinement, with Passo facing an additional charge of domestic battery. The two could face murder charges once the corner determines the official cause of death.
The couple’s other children are reportedly healthy and have been placed with child protective services.
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H/T BuzzFeed News