‘Nothing but a monster’: Man who left girlfriend’s son with autism to starve to death while tied down to bed in 56-degree basement receives fate

An Ohio man is headed to prison for more than a decade for the death of his girlfriend’s teenage son with autism who withered with no food while restrained in a 56-degree basement.

William Turnage, 59, was sentenced Monday to between 11 and 15 1/2 years behind bars in the death of 16-year-old Jeremiah Moore, the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office told Law&Crime. He pleaded guilty on July 31 to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors dropped a murder charge, and he will have to testify against 53-year-old Tamara Moore — Jeremiah’s mother and Turnage’s girlfriend at the time of the boy’s death. Moore is slated to go on trial for murder on Sept. 29.

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Prosecutors detailed the horrific conditions in which the boy lived during Monday’s hearing, according to a courtroom report by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Jeremiah died on Feb. 6, 2024, while tied down to a cot in a basement utility room at his home in Springfield Township, a Cincinnati suburb. Prosecutors reportedly said he had no food in his stomach and was wearing only an “absolutely disgusting” diaper when he died.

The boy had marks on his wrists and neck, indicating he had been restrained, and he was not even able to stand up in the utility closet in which he was kept, prosecutors said, per the Enquirer. Cops reportedly measured the basement temperature at just 56 degrees.

Jeremiah was nonverbal and relied entirely on adults to take care of him, according to police.

“I’ve never seen a case that’s this horrific with the suffering that they put him through and with him not being able to even verbalize the pain or suffering that he was going through,” Springfield Township police Sgt. Rami Khayo reportedly said.

Jeremiah’s maternal grandmother took care of him during the first part of his life. But that care took a turn for the worse after his grandma died, according to prosecutors.

Turnage apologized, reportedly saying he wished he had been more “proactive.” He also claimed he “wasn’t aware” of the extent of the boy’s misery.

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Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers was having none of it.

“You’re nothing but a monster, sir,” she said, according to the Enquirer. “You’re going to have to live with this for the rest of your life.”

As Law&Crime previously reported, Moore was arrested at her home on April 12, 2024, some two months after her son’s death. Law enforcement continued to search for Turnage, and they found and detained him four days later.

Then-Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers released a statement following the arrests, vowing to secure justice for the victim.

“Words alone cannot describe the level of depravity displayed by these two defendants,” she said, per local Fox affiliate WXIX. “My heart breaks for this little boy. He was treated worse than an animal, forced to live in a basement closet unwanted, unloved, and denied the most basic of necessities.”

“I promise that we will do whatever is necessary to ensure there is justice for J.J. and that both of these individuals are held accountable for what they have done,” she added.

Conrad Hoyt contributed to this report.

The post ‘Nothing but a monster’: Man who left girlfriend’s son with autism to starve to death while tied down to bed in 56-degree basement receives fate first appeared on Law & Crime.