Parents Arrested After Boy, 4, is Found Starving and Trapped in Dog Crate

A Missouri couple is behind bars after their 4-year-old son was found dangerously malnourished and allegedly forced to sit in a dog crate while the rest of the family ate dinner.

Patricia Siercks, 34, and Joshua Gusman, 32, are facing serious child abuse charges after their severely underweight son was rushed to Golden Valley Memorial Hospital in late June. According to police, doctors determined the boy was just “days from fatal organ failure.”

The child weighed only 23 pounds—more than 20 pounds underweight for his age—and had gained just one pound in two and a half years. His face was covered in bruises and scratches, and his heartbeat had become dangerously irregular due to prolonged starvation, officials said.

Police say Siercks admitted to slapping and punching her son in the face two weeks earlier, claiming she lost her temper after he “threw a fit” at an appointment. The abuse had reportedly been going on for years. Gusman told Child Protective Services that he had seen the child locked in a dog crate during family meals while everyone else ate—and the boy was left with nothing.

Although a doctor had previously instructed the parents to give the child PediaSure to help him gain weight, Siercks allegedly stopped because “it was all he wanted to drink.” As a result, he lost 6 pounds in just three months.

The boy was transferred to a children’s hospital and diagnosed with refeeding syndrome, a dangerous condition that can occur when severely malnourished people begin eating again. He was also diagnosed with long-term starvation, stunted growth, dehydration, and what doctors called “acute childhood torture.”

Both parents are being held at the Henry County Jail without bond. Siercks is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, while Gusman’s hearing was set for Monday morning.