GUILTY IN - Eduardo Posso, 12, dies of abuse and starvation, Monroe County, July 2019

doodles1211

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 14, 2016
Messages
9,445
Reaction score
24,120
See BBM message below before reading: Graphic details

This makes me sick. I wish I had a WonderWoman cape and could rescue all these poor kids! Who does this? Only a monster could! Tears come to my eyes over stuff like this.

A 12-year-old boy who weighed less than 55 pounds when he died at an Indiana hospital last week was restrained in a motel bathtub and shocked with a dog’s “shock collar” as punishment prior to his death, according to authorities.

Eduardo Posso was pronounced dead early Friday morning at Bloomington Hospital, where Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain said the boy had been taken, unresponsive, by his father and stepmother. Doctors at the hospital found signs of long-term abuse and starvation in the boy, Swain said.



Luis Eduardo Posso Jr., 33, and Dayana Sarahid Medina Flores, 25, are charged with multiple counts of felony child neglect, according to Swain. Posso is also charged with domestic battery and both he and his wife are charged with confinement.

Each is being held in the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Additional charges against the couple are likely, including possible murder charges. Investigators await a determination on the manner and cause of the boy’s death.

Editor’s note: The following description of Eduardo Posso’s death contains graphic details. It may be too disturbing to some readers.


Monroe County Coroner Joni Shield told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that Eduardo was “severely emaciated,” weighing between 50 and 55 pounds when he died. A 12-year-old boy should weigh somewhere between 65 and 130 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There were definitely signs of severe starvation and abuse, as well, Shield said. “Soft tissue abuse. There were no internal injuries found. No broken bones.”

The bruises on Eduardo covered his entire body, Shield said. Though the coroner said she could not say definitively for how long the boy had been starved before he died, she said it was for quite a while.

“It’s not been overnight. It’s not been a month. It’s been a long time that he’s been without nourishment,” she said.

Monroe County Detective Lt. Jennifer Allen said the forensic pathologist on the case found that Eduardo had 0% body fat when he died.

The sheriff said he has worked some “pretty horrendous” child homicide and abuse cases in his career, but none like this one.

“You don’t even want to let your mind go to imagine what this child’s thoughts were and what his prospects for his future were,” Swain said during Tuesday’s news conference. “I was told that the emergency room doctor had a pretty emotional experience as a result of having to do this examination and just seeing firsthand the results of the cruelty some people can place on another, especially a child that’s defenseless.”

Swain said detectives investigating Eduardo’s death went to the family’s room at the Economy Inn extended stay motel in Bloomington, where they were staying while doing promotional work for an upcoming circus. The family checked into the motel four days before Eduardo died.

“That’s the way they made their living, going to different towns to do the advertising and put out fliers,” Swain said.

Detectives who searched the family’s room found restraints, including chains and wrist and ankle shackles, that were used on Eduardo. They also found the dog shock collar.

At least one cellphone in the couple’s belongings held photos and video footage that showed Eduardo restrained in the motel room’s tub, Swain said. Flores and the other children are seen coming and going in the bathroom, paying no mind to the boy as they did so.

Posso had snapped a “selfie” of himself with a restrained Eduardo in the shot, the sheriff said.

Eduardo had the shock collar around his neck in the images, Allen said.

Watch Monroe County officials discuss the death of Eduardo Posso below.

Allen told reporters that investigators also found a web-based security system in the motel room with which Posso and Flores could keep an eye on Eduardo. The couple sometimes left the boy alone in the motel room while they and the other children went to hand out fliers for the circus.

The security camera was attached to a towel bar in the bathroom, Allen said.

Shield confirmed that Eduardo’s physical condition would have been apparent to outsiders if he had been observed. Allen said though Posso and Flores sometimes took him along when they and the other children passed out fliers, Eduardo was usually left in the family’s van.

Eduardo’s 9-year-old sister and two stepbrothers, ages 5 and 2, have been placed in the care of Indiana Child Protective Services.

“The other children seemed to be in relatively good health, but indications seem to be that this young man, Eduardo, lived a very sad life,” Swain said.

The sheriff said preliminary findings indicate Eduardo starved to death, though the definitive cause and manner of death are pending. Shield told reporters she would release those findings as soon as she is able.

Allen said Posso and Flores told authorities Eduardo became ill the day before he died as the family passed out fliers for the circus. Flores suggested they return to the motel room, where the boy’s condition continued to decline.

When they checked on him Friday morning, they realized he had stopped breathing, Posso rushed him to the hospital, Allen said.

The ongoing criminal investigation will likely include multiple jurisdictions because the family traveled for their work, Swain said. Detectives are currently trying to determine where the family traveled in the weeks leading up to Eduardo’s death.

Allen said from what investigators have determined since Friday morning, the alleged abuse inflicted on Eduardo had been ongoing but had become more severe over the past year or so.

“We do have some photographs and some videos on some of the devices that show that he appeared to be somewhat of a normal, happy little boy approximately a year ago,” Allen said.

The detective said both Posso and Flores denied withholding food from Eduardo. Posso admitted to some of the physical abuse but denied using restraints on his son, Allen said.

Flores told investigators her husband physically abused and restrained his son.

“I was given the explanation that he was the child that acted up the most,” Allen said. “He was the one they always had issues with. The other children behaved, just behaved better than he did.”

A reporter asked Allen how she was affected by the abuse allegations.

“You can’t even put that into words,” Allen said. “There are no words for it.”

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/national/circus-promoters-starved-year-old-son-chained-him-bathtub-before-death-authorities-say/HrYch0FeQfUgoxwZSepUMI/
 
OMG how can people be so cruel? ?

RIP beautiful boy. Nobody will hurt you now.

When you click on the photo in the first post it takes you to a Tweet which also has a picture of the restraints used and one of those "parents". *yuck*:confused:
 
This is very. very similar to a case that happened literally across the road from me when I was a teenager. In Martin County, Kentucky, a 14yo boy named Wesley was chained to a toilet and starved to death for almost a year. He had several broken bones and a swollen spleen when he was found. He was finally able to escape and he got help. His dad was prominent in the community. The whole town was shocked and still trying to recover. Montel had him on a few episodes and he's doing relatively well after all these years. I don't know what the heck is wrong with people.
 
Boy who died in Bloomington was restrained with shock collar and starved, authorities say
The family was in Bloomington for work, police say, and stayed at the Economy Inn. A search of their motel room found a box containing restraints and a K9 shock collar, deputies said.

A web-based security system had apparently been installed. Officers later found an app for the system on one of the parents' phones, authorities said. A housekeeper at the motel told authorities she saw a web camera attached to the towel bar in the bathroom.

Investigators found on cellphones video footage of Eduardo restrained in a bathtub and a "selfie" of Posso that also shows Eduardo in restraints, authorities said. They also found photographs of Eduardo with the shock collar around his neck, deputies said.

The couple distributes advertising for a circus that tours the country. They often tasked the children, who weren't enrolled in school, with helping them pass out flyers.

Investigators believe the abuse had been going on within the last year. Video footage shows he was a "happy little boy," about a year ago. Then something changed. "Things got more severe," detective Lt. Jennifer Allen said.
 
Last edited:
Mother of boy shackled, starved in Monroe County said she knew something was wrong: ‘No one will listen’

"There was some CPS involvement in the state of Florida," Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain said.

Garcia said she thought her son was supposed to be in Florida. She didn't have custody and wasn't able to see or talk to her kids often. She said she believed something was wrong and that she and others tried to sound the alarm in Florida.

"I want to see him. I want to kiss him, however he is, and tell him I’m sorry. I did everything I could, but nothing worked," Garcia said.

A spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said they were called by the school district to investigate a possible child abuse incident. The spokesperson said they had incidents reported to them in November 2017 and November 2018. They investigated and found nothing.

A spokesperson for the school district of Manatee County confirmed Eduardo was withdrawn from the district to be home schooled in December 2018. He attended the district sporadically since 2012.
 
Wonder why mom didn't have custody ?
It could be as simple as the "dad" made more money than her ?
How terrible for her.
I cannot imagine.

Eta : I took it to mean the 'dad' was keeping information from the bio-mom.
a lot of non-communication going on here. Mom and uncle seemed genuinely distraught.
As circus promoters.. they must have been traveling often, so-- somewhat transient ?
 
Last edited:
Thought he was in Florida? She didn’t know where her kids were living?
And the last time she saw him was two years ago. Would the Dad not let her see her children or at least talk to them on the phone?!
Home schooling - sure.
That poor little boy.....
 
you know why he was "worse" than the other kids? Because he was freaking 12 years old and the others were younger, more submissive, more dependent. 12 year old boys (and girls and non-binary) are far different than 9, 5, and 2 year olds. I was somewhat relieved (ugh, not the right word, sorry) to hear that he may have had a fun life at one point and that this abuse may have just started in earnest in the past year. I always wonder if kids like these ever knew love, ever got to laugh, ever had anyone care about them... I am outraged nonetheless. Furious.
 
Yet again, parents pull their kids out of school to "home school" after being investigated for child abuse, and an innocent child ends up dead. Something needs to change.

Good point.
Some people homeschool from the get go and are largely visible in the public eye due to church, community activities, and/or activities in coordination with the public school (my friend homeschooled but had her kids in some sports and in band at the public school).

It's when the kids disappear completely -- especially after abuse allegations -- that CPS needs to step up and take notice !
Such a big red flag, and too often so little is done. And sometime even law enforcement is hampered by the inaction of CPS.
 
Good point.
Some people homeschool from the get go and are largely visible in the public eye due to church, community activities, and/or activities in coordination with the public school (my friend homeschooled but had her kids in some sports and in band at the public school).

It's when the kids disappear completely -- especially after abuse allegations -- that CPS needs to step up and take notice !
Such a big red flag, and too often so little is done. And sometime even law enforcement is hampered by the inaction of CPS.

Its not just CPS though. If they don't already, schools should have procedures in place for when a parent pulls their kid from school following an abuse claim/investigation.
 
you know why he was "worse" than the other kids? Because he was freaking 12 years old and the others were younger, more submissive, more dependent. 12 year old boys (and girls and non-binary) are far different than 9, 5, and 2 year olds. I was somewhat relieved (ugh, not the right word, sorry) to hear that he may have had a fun life at one point and that this abuse may have just started in earnest in the past year. I always wonder if kids like these ever knew love, ever got to laugh, ever had anyone care about them... I am outraged nonetheless. Furious.

Quoting myself; too late to edit, but I was not in any way "excusing" this by saying he was 12. I meant, he was just a 12 year old kid being a 12 year old kid!! Hello, parenthood, this is what it entails. My intention was to convey that whatever he was doing that these "parents" considered bad behavior was probably just a result of being a curious 12 year old kid. Stepmom was all of 25 I think, perhaps not ready to parent an almost teenager... It's like parents who beat their kids for potty accidents. Kids being kids. That's what we want, isn't it? I am just so angry, I cannot get Eduardo out of my head. His name should be in the thread title but I am too angry to ask our busy MODs.
 
Yet again, parents pull their kids out of school to "home school" after being investigated for child abuse, and an innocent child ends up dead. Something needs to change.

Yes, they will pull them out to homeschool. Or...they move to a different school district or to a different state. I worked in a school and have first-hand knowledge of parents doing this. I am aware of an incident when child protective services forced the parents (via the courts) to put the children in public school afther a true finding of neglect investigation. Those children were not being taught at home...they were just flying under the radar.
 
See BBM message below before reading: Graphic details

This makes me sick. I wish I had a WonderWoman cape and could rescue all these poor kids! Who does this? Only a monster could! Tears come to my eyes over stuff like this.

A 12-year-old boy who weighed less than 55 pounds when he died at an Indiana hospital last week was restrained in a motel bathtub and shocked with a dog’s “shock collar” as punishment prior to his death, according to authorities.

Eduardo Posso was pronounced dead early Friday morning at Bloomington Hospital, where Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain said the boy had been taken, unresponsive, by his father and stepmother. Doctors at the hospital found signs of long-term abuse and starvation in the boy, Swain said.



Luis Eduardo Posso Jr., 33, and Dayana Sarahid Medina Flores, 25, are charged with multiple counts of felony child neglect, according to Swain. Posso is also charged with domestic battery and both he and his wife are charged with confinement.

Each is being held in the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Additional charges against the couple are likely, including possible murder charges. Investigators await a determination on the manner and cause of the boy’s death.

Editor’s note: The following description of Eduardo Posso’s death contains graphic details. It may be too disturbing to some readers.


Monroe County Coroner Joni Shield told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that Eduardo was “severely emaciated,” weighing between 50 and 55 pounds when he died. A 12-year-old boy should weigh somewhere between 65 and 130 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There were definitely signs of severe starvation and abuse, as well, Shield said. “Soft tissue abuse. There were no internal injuries found. No broken bones.”

The bruises on Eduardo covered his entire body, Shield said. Though the coroner said she could not say definitively for how long the boy had been starved before he died, she said it was for quite a while.

“It’s not been overnight. It’s not been a month. It’s been a long time that he’s been without nourishment,” she said.

Monroe County Detective Lt. Jennifer Allen said the forensic pathologist on the case found that Eduardo had 0% body fat when he died.

The sheriff said he has worked some “pretty horrendous” child homicide and abuse cases in his career, but none like this one.

“You don’t even want to let your mind go to imagine what this child’s thoughts were and what his prospects for his future were,” Swain said during Tuesday’s news conference. “I was told that the emergency room doctor had a pretty emotional experience as a result of having to do this examination and just seeing firsthand the results of the cruelty some people can place on another, especially a child that’s defenseless.”

Swain said detectives investigating Eduardo’s death went to the family’s room at the Economy Inn extended stay motel in Bloomington, where they were staying while doing promotional work for an upcoming circus. The family checked into the motel four days before Eduardo died.

“That’s the way they made their living, going to different towns to do the advertising and put out fliers,” Swain said.

Detectives who searched the family’s room found restraints, including chains and wrist and ankle shackles, that were used on Eduardo. They also found the dog shock collar.

At least one cellphone in the couple’s belongings held photos and video footage that showed Eduardo restrained in the motel room’s tub, Swain said. Flores and the other children are seen coming and going in the bathroom, paying no mind to the boy as they did so.

Posso had snapped a “selfie” of himself with a restrained Eduardo in the shot, the sheriff said.

Eduardo had the shock collar around his neck in the images, Allen said.

Watch Monroe County officials discuss the death of Eduardo Posso below.

Allen told reporters that investigators also found a web-based security system in the motel room with which Posso and Flores could keep an eye on Eduardo. The couple sometimes left the boy alone in the motel room while they and the other children went to hand out fliers for the circus.

The security camera was attached to a towel bar in the bathroom, Allen said.

Shield confirmed that Eduardo’s physical condition would have been apparent to outsiders if he had been observed. Allen said though Posso and Flores sometimes took him along when they and the other children passed out fliers, Eduardo was usually left in the family’s van.

Eduardo’s 9-year-old sister and two stepbrothers, ages 5 and 2, have been placed in the care of Indiana Child Protective Services.

“The other children seemed to be in relatively good health, but indications seem to be that this young man, Eduardo, lived a very sad life,” Swain said.

The sheriff said preliminary findings indicate Eduardo starved to death, though the definitive cause and manner of death are pending. Shield told reporters she would release those findings as soon as she is able.

Allen said Posso and Flores told authorities Eduardo became ill the day before he died as the family passed out fliers for the circus. Flores suggested they return to the motel room, where the boy’s condition continued to decline.

When they checked on him Friday morning, they realized he had stopped breathing, Posso rushed him to the hospital, Allen said.

The ongoing criminal investigation will likely include multiple jurisdictions because the family traveled for their work, Swain said. Detectives are currently trying to determine where the family traveled in the weeks leading up to Eduardo’s death.

Allen said from what investigators have determined since Friday morning, the alleged abuse inflicted on Eduardo had been ongoing but had become more severe over the past year or so.

“We do have some photographs and some videos on some of the devices that show that he appeared to be somewhat of a normal, happy little boy approximately a year ago,” Allen said.

The detective said both Posso and Flores denied withholding food from Eduardo. Posso admitted to some of the physical abuse but denied using restraints on his son, Allen said.

Flores told investigators her husband physically abused and restrained his son.

“I was given the explanation that he was the child that acted up the most,” Allen said. “He was the one they always had issues with. The other children behaved, just behaved better than he did.”

A reporter asked Allen how she was affected by the abuse allegations.

“You can’t even put that into words,” Allen said. “There are no words for it.”

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/national/circus-promoters-starved-year-old-son-chained-him-bathtub-before-death-authorities-say/HrYch0FeQfUgoxwZSepUMI/
So the parents stand on a street corner and hand out circus flyers all day? With a 9, 5, and 2 year old helping? Strange way to home school.
Do they just follow the circus from city to city?
 
Quoting myself; too late to edit, but I was not in any way "excusing" this by saying he was 12. I meant, he was just a 12 year old kid being a 12 year old kid!! Hello, parenthood, this is what it entails. My intention was to convey that whatever he was doing that these "parents" considered bad behavior was probably just a result of being a curious 12 year old kid. Stepmom was all of 25 I think, perhaps not ready to parent an almost teenager... It's like parents who beat their kids for potty accidents. Kids being kids. That's what we want, isn't it? I am just so angry, I cannot get Eduardo out of my head. His name should be in the thread title but I am too angry to ask our busy MODs.
I got you covered @AzPistonsGirl ! Kindly asked mods to add his name in! He deserves that much.
 
Can we maybe move this to Crimes Against Children? This is a truly heinous crime against an innocent and should be acknowledged as such :(
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
120
Guests online
5,697
Total visitors
5,817

Forum statistics

Threads
621,803
Messages
18,438,757
Members
239,765
Latest member
TSC
Back
Top