WV - 3 accused of locking 2-year old twin boys in feces-covered room - May 10, 2023

[Ebon]

3 accused of locking 2-year-old twin boys in feces-covered bedroom and starving them

JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (TCD) -- Deputies arrested a 21-year-old mother, her 24-year-old husband, and her 22-year-old boyfriend this week for allegedly locking 2-year-old twin boys in a bedroom for days at a time and inadequately feeding them.

truecrimedaily.com

The Sheriff’s Office learned Lylee Gillenwater, her boyfriend Brian Casto, and her husband Michael Gillenwater locked the victim and his twin brother in a bedroom with a padlock for as many as six weeks at a time. The three suspects would allegedly medicate the children to get them to sleep so they wouldn’t have to provide parental care.

According to Mellinger, the boys would often wear nothing but a diaper and were fed pieces of ground beef and Cheerios under the door. The neglect reportedly reached such a level that one of the twins lost consciousness.

Officials noticed the room was entirely covered in human feces, which made it nearly impossible to walk around, WCHS-TV reports.

 

[Stunned]

Those poor babies! Those despicable upright cells!

 

[tlcya]

The sheriff added that, as the twins stayed in the locked room, Michael lived upstairs while his wife and her boyfriend stayed in the basement.

Mellinger ultimately described the three adults as “animals,” noting that his department was completely appalled as to how parents could treat their own children in such a way.
West Virginia trio allegedly locked up 2-year-old twins in squalid rooms

According to the criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime, Lylee Gillenwater, 21, Michael Scott Gillenwater, 24, and Brian Douglas Casto, 22, were each living at a residence in Ripley, within Jackson County, when 2-year-old “DG” was deprived of water for days and locked room with his twin brother “ZG” in a room filled with urine and feces.
[snip]
“The Mother, Lylee Gillenwater (Adkins) was present at the home with two other children and her live in Boyfriend and custodian of the children, Brian Casto,” the complaint said, noting that Michael Gillenwater was at the hospital with DG on May 8, the day a search warrant was executed. “Casto would advise the undersigned that he had been living in the home from roughly four weeks and that in that time, he had not seen the boys out of the bedroom for more than 3-5 hours during the weekend.”
[snip]
The room appeared to only have two small crib style mattresses laying on the floor that were completely soiled with urine and faces. The room was covered in human feces to the point investigators were unable to move about the room without stepping in both dry and wet feces,” the complaint said. “This room had an external lock on the outside of the door which would not allow anyone inside of the room to exit. Two types of food were located in the doorway of the locked room. Cheerios along with ground beef were laying in the doorway as if the boys had pushed the food out of the room. It was determined that DG along with his twin brother ZG were the sole occupants of the room.”
Parents, mom's live-in boyfriend accused of 'hell on Earth' abuse of twins locked away in feces-filled room

 

[FromGermany1]

Inside house where toddler twins were imprisoned by 'throuple' parents

DailyMail.com obtained exclusive pictures from inside the home showing child-size mattresses, plastic trays, a stuffed toy and soiled diapers littering the floor.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[tlcya]

man that house has not been a good home for children.

Little Emmaleigh Elizabeth Barringer died there in 2016 most horribly

GUILTY - WV - Emmaleigh Barringer, 10 months, dies after brutal rape, Ripley, 3 Oct 2016 *Arrest*

 

[bleuboy]

here is the facebooks for the 3 of them mum Lylee Gillenwater
husband Log into Facebook
boyfriend Log into Facebook

 

[Stunned]

I’m guessing/hoping they didn’t have much company over. IMO

 

[Observant-ADHD-ENFP-BSc]

I can't believe what I have read.
This is unfathomable.
Were these innocent babies born during the pandemic? They have had such a sheltered, isolated life, and one of the saddest parts is they probably did not even know any different.
What is the maximum penalty for the charges?

 

[Eloise]

I've written and deleted two different posts now, because I don't really know what to say.
Their social media accounts are interesting to look through. The babies are pictured.

I wonder if it all went downhill when this "boyfriend" came onto the scene? Still that absolutely doesn't absolve the responsibility of the parents one iota.

 

[renah]

What in the actual futz.

I am so sorry for these babies.

 

[al66pine]

Per link, referring to sheriff:
"Mellinger ultimately described the three adults as “animals,” noting that his department was completely appalled as to how parents could treat their own children in such a way."
Seems most ppl would be appalled that parents could treat ANY children in such a way. Or treat PETS this way. Or livestock.

Also in same house, a THIRD child, a female: "The boy’s twin was also removed from the home, along with a third female child police found. It was not immediately clear what her relationship was with the family."
An older or younger sister to the twins? A daughter to either the husband by other relationship, or the boyfriend?

______________________________

West Virginia trio allegedly locked up 2-year-old twins in squalid rooms

One of the twins suffered “complete renal failure” after the boys were kept in “very soiled” rooms for up to six weeks at a time.

nypost.com

 

[al66pine]

Quoting my earlier post:
"... most ppl would be appalled that parents could treat ANY children in such a way. Or treat PETS this way. Or livestock."

to add ---
Most ppl (not just parents) would be appalled that parents --- or anyone --- could treat STRAY animals or even RABID ANIMALS this way.

AND
if woman & boyfriend live on one floor of house, and woman's husband lives on other floor, okay, fine and dandy (if they are adults).

BUT if there are minors, esp'ly their offspring, also living in house?
Nope, nope, noppity, NOPE.

AND minors subject CONDITIONS (described in OP's link to MSM????
I cannot imagine.
imo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“In the 27 years I’ve been doing this I’ve not seen it to this level where a child is targeted - in this case, it’s children being targeted specifically within the home to be basically left for dead," Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger said.

On Monday night, Mellinger said someone inside the apartment on Meadowlark Lane called 911 after one of the boys was found unresponsive. According to a criminal complaint, it was determined at Jackson General Hospital the boy had been "severely malnourished with signs of kidney failure."

Court records show that deputies searched the apartment where they discovered that boys were locked inside an upstairs bedroom unattended for days at a time. The floor and two mattresses were soiled with feces and urine. Deputies believe they were only fed pieces of ground beef and cereal, not given water and drugged with medicine to sleep.

Mellinger said the rest of the apartment was in decent shape and that the little girl Lylee and Michael shared was fine and living outside of the room. Investigators called this a "targeted act of neglect" on the two boys.

“Ongoing over and over and over, every day you wake up and go about your life and just completely forget about the two kids you have locked in a cell upstairs," Mellinger said.

Betty Jo Nichols a neighbor that grew up with Lylee. Nichols said she would watch the kids from time to time when they were born, but said they had been distant recently.

“Watching them from happy-going to not seeing them at all when I go over there was a big change but I didn’t expect to see so many police cars up there at once with a CPS worker," Nichols said.

“In a way I blame myself because if I followed my instincts," Nichols said. "If I knew it was bad I would have reported it."

'Special corner in hell waiting for people like this': Neglect case baffles neighbors

A 2-year-old boy is fighting for his life after he was found unresponsive next to his twin brother in Ripley.

wchstv.com

*I am having a hard time holding back from what I really want to happen to those three…

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Criminal charges against three suspects in Jackson County arrested in what has been referred to as a "targeted act of neglect" toward twin toddlers are moving forward as one of the boys continues to recover in the hospital.

On Wednesday, Brian Casto, 22, waived his preliminary hearing in magistrate court, sending one count of child abuse resulting in injury and one count of child abuse with risk of injury charges to a grand jury for consideration.

On Wednesday, Brian Casto, 22, waived his preliminary hearing in magistrate court, sending one count of child abuse resulting in injury and one count of child abuse with risk of injury charges to a grand jury for consideration. (WCHS)

On Tuesday, Jackson County Magistrate Laura Pursley found probable cause in the cases against Lylee and Michael Gillenwater and sent their charges to circuit court. The three were arrested last week after Lylee's 2-year-old boy went to the hospital malnourished and dehydrated, deputies said. Deputies were called to the Ripley apartment on May 8 on Meadowlark Lane, where they said twin boys were living in horrific conditions in an upstairs bedroom.

Sheriff: 2-year-old in 'horrific' neglect case now off ventilator; final suspect in court

Criminal charges against three suspects in Jackson County arrested in what has been referred to as a

wchstv.com

 

[tlcya]

"I am happy to report this evening that he is off the vent and making substantial strides for his better health. He is far from recovered and far from out of the woods but he certainly has made some rather monumental strides since this time last week," Mellinger said in a message posted to the department's Facebook page on Wednesday evening.

"The multitude of prayers and well wishes from everybody nationwide, maybe even worldwide has certainly done the trick, along with the great medical staff there in Morgantown at Ruby Memorial," the sheriff said.
Sheriff: 2-year-old in 'horrific' neglect case now off ventilator; final suspect in court

Praying these babies get all the resources they will need for probably a long long time to recover from this horrific neglect.

 

[AzPistonsGirl]

"The multitude of prayers and well wishes from everybody nationwide, maybe even worldwide has certainly done the trick, along with the great medical staff there in Morgantown at Ruby Memorial," the sheriff said.
Sheriff: 2-year-old in 'horrific' neglect case now off ventilator; final suspect in court

S&BBM: I am glad these children will have a shot, but, respectfully, it is due entirely to medical intervention, not prayers from the world.

IMO of course.

 

[Mert]

Per link, referring to sheriff:
"Mellinger ultimately described the three adults as “animals,” noting that his department was completely appalled as to how parents could treat their own children in such a way."
Seems most ppl would be appalled that parents could treat ANY children in such a way. Or treat PETS this way. Or livestock.

Also in same house, a THIRD child, a female: "The boy’s twin was also removed from the home, along with a third female child police found. It was not immediately clear what her relationship was with the family."
An older or younger sister to the twins? A daughter to either the husband by other relationship, or the boyfriend?

______________________________

West Virginia trio allegedly locked up 2-year-old twins in squalid rooms

One of the twins suffered “complete renal failure” after the boys were kept in “very soiled” rooms for up to six weeks at a time.

nypost.com

I believe the sister is one and I THINK I have seen it referenced that she belongs to Lylee and the husband. I believe the boys are only biological to Lylee.
*My opinion


“The detective also mentioned the unusual relationship dynamics inside the home. The twins were Lylee's from a previous relationship, but Michael had been in their life from the beginning. Casto, Lylee's boyfriend, had been living in the apartment with them for weeks.”

Case of parents accused of child neglect in Jackson County, W.Va., sent to grand jury

wchstv.com

“Mellinger said the rest of the apartment was in decent shape and that the little girl Lylee and Michael shared was fine and living outside of the room. Investigators called this a "targeted act of neglect" on the two boys.”

'Special corner in hell waiting for people like this': Neglect case baffles neighbors

wchstv.com

 

[Ruby_PA]

S&BBM: I am glad these children will have a shot, but, respectfully, it is due entirely to medical intervention, not prayers from the world.

IMO of course.

Thank you for mentioning this, I agree. I find it almost disrespectful to the medical staff that worked so hard to save him and so many others, to be mentioned last, almost as an afterthought. Thoughts & prayers have not helped to reduce the loss of innocent lives in this country in any meaningful way. It's basically virtue signaling at best. IMO.

 

[LadyL]

those poor boys

 

[tlcya]

RIPLEY, W.Va. (WV News) — Lylee Gillenwater, one of three charged in a Jackson County child neglect case in May 2023, was sentenced on March 7.
Jackson County (West Virginia) woman sentenced for child neglect

Her husband Michael was sentenced as well. I can find no record of the outcome of th ecase against her live in boyfriend Casto