According to court documents revealed on Wednesday, a Colorado couple, Vanessa and David Hall, living 35 miles north of Denver in the town of Longmont, almost killed their teenage blind autistic son from malnutrition, revealed the court documents. The couple was arrested on Tuesday on the count of negligence and felony child abuse, reported Reuters.
When the father took his unconscious son to the hospital last week, he told the medical personnel that he thought his son is suffering from flu. However, the attending physician, Dr. Denise Hasson, told the agents on the case that the boy's condition was really bad because he lost body fluids due to malnourishment. The doctors also noted that the boy had bed sores, pneumonia, compromised immunity and lack of essential vitamins in the body, apart from several other illnesses. He was also suffering from acute renal failure, CBS Local reported.
Dr. Matthew Haemer, nutritional physician treating the teenager, said that the boy has shown signs of improvement after hospitalization. However, it would take at least a month of intensive care before his condition can be treated as no longer life threatening. He would also require six months of proper nutrition diet to reach normal body weight.
"Dr. Haemer described (the boy's) physical condition as being consistent with someone who would have been in a concentration camp for several years," the affidavit said.
Spokeswoman from Boulder County District Attorney's Office revealed that the parents are now under arrest and facing felony charges of child abuse. They have also been accused of negligence that caused serious physical injury to their teenage son.
However, in their defense, the couple told the investigators that their son was a "picky eater." They also mentioned that he survived on seven to eight cans of soda and ate foods like crackers and "cheesy" chips only.
The affidavit revealed that the autistic boy was never taken to a dentist or a physician in the last eight years. He was also never exposed to formal schooling or any kind of in-home assistance. The investigators reported that the child used a jug by his bedside as a toilet.
The police detective also noted that when he came to the hospital to talk the parents about the child's deplorable condition, they had already left to take care of their pets at home. The caseworker also mentioned in the court document that the father, David Hall, was more concerned about losing the government assistance payments than his ailing son.
