MN - Autumn Hallow, 8, Elk River, 14 Aug 2020 *ARRESTS*

[kelsie]

Two arrested in Elk River in the killing of an 8-year-old girl

Two people were arrested Friday evening in Elk River in connection with the killing of an 8-year-old girl, authorities said.

A 30-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were booked into the Sherburne County jail Friday on suspicion of second-degree murder in the death of Autumn Hallow, Elk River Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen said in a news release. The two have not been charged.

On Thursday, Elk River officers were called to an apartment at the Depot at Elk River Station on a report of a medical emergency. Autumn was not breathing when officers arrived, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy determined that the girl’s death was a homicide, according to Sherburrne County Sheriff Joel Brott.

Residents in Elk River apartment complex mourn loss of 8-year-old girl

On Friday night, police arrested 30-year-old Brett Hallow and 28-year-old Sarah Hallow. Both are being held in the Sherburne County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder.

 

[borndem]

Just because you can, does not mean you should.
It never stops, does it? SMH.

 

[kelsie]

Just because you can, does not mean you should.
It never stops, does it? SMH.

Agreed. The dad and stepmom are the ones arrested. The girl's mother was fighting to get her back after the dad used the excuse of covid to keep Autumn longer than he was supposed to. MOO.

 

[kelsie]

Murder charges against Elk River dad, stepmom say girl, 8, was emaciated before dying

An 8-year-old girl was wasting away physically from a lack of food and was tied up in a sleeping bag as a form of punishment in the time leading to her death in the family's Elk River apartment, according to murder charges filed Monday against her father and stepmother.

The Hallows were jailed without bail Friday, a day after law enforcement came to the home after being told that Autumn was partly submerged in a bathtub, the charges said. Police found Sarah Hallow in a bedroom giving the girl chest compressions despite her body being rigid and her fingers blue.

"Based on the condition of [Autumn's] body, law enforcement believed [she] had been deceased for some time," the charges read.

Absolutely sickening

 

[Knitty]

Agreed. The dad and stepmom are the ones arrested. The girl's mother was fighting to get her back after the dad used the excuse of covid to keep Autumn longer than he was supposed to. MOO.

That's disgusting. WHY WHY WHY fight for a child and then mistreat her at all, especially enough to kill her!

 

[borndem]

Just saw this --

Minn. Couple Allegedly Killed, Starved 8-Year-Old and Tied Her Up So She Couldn't Access Medicine

Police believe Autumn Hallow was dead for several days before being found by police Thursday

By Chris Harris
August 19, 2020 10:12 AM
Authorities in Minnesota have filed murder and manslaughter charges against a man and his girlfriend for their alleged roles in the death of his 8-year-old daughter, who was emaciated when she died, PEOPLE confirms.
[...]
The couple allegedly withheld food from Autumn, allowing the girl to waste away physically. Autumn weighed 45 lbs. at death.

Officers were called to the couple's apartment last Thursday, arriving to find Sarah Hallow in a bedroom performing chest compressions on Autumn's rigid body.

Police noted that the girl's fingers were blue and detected abrasions and "pin-like" marks on her forehead, and they found blood in the bathroom, according to the documents.
However, an autopsy on Autumn's remains showed puncture wounds on her head as well as abdominal and brain bleeding. Her hips and hands also showed signs of bruising.

More here:
Minn. Couple Allegedly Killed, Starved 8-Year-Old and Tied Her Up So She Couldn't Access Medicine

 

[borndem]

From the above People article --
"Autumn weighed 45 lbs. at death."
I checked a weight chart for girls, and an 8 year-old girl should weigh 57 pounds. I fought tears thinking about how many nights and mornings she woke up with her stomach in cramps due to her hunger and malnutrition. IMO, this is Death Penalty stuff, even though Minnesota did away with it in 1911.

 

[Wild Rose]

Pin like marks on her head. I bet she, maybe he, beat her with a hairbrush. Puncture wounds on her head? How does a child scream in pain and neither one of them stops it? Monsters.

 

[Tracey4AU]

Mugshots.
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15909630/2020/08/brett-and-sarah-hallow-mug-.png?w=1280

ETA: Wonder what happened to stepmonster’s face?

 

[insearchoflight]

This is too heartbreaking for words

 

[Filly]

That's disgusting. WHY WHY WHY fight for a child and then mistreat her at all, especially enough to kill her!

A check. Food stamps. Revenge. Jealousy. Of course not in all cases, but I see it all the time over a check.

 

[Filly]

How does a child scream in pain and neither one of them stops it? Monsters.

From the looks and of course that isn't always the case, but looking at that defiant wench I'm going to say she was "large and in charge", and that creep as my dad used to say "it's all who they are sleeping with" that a "father" went along with his poor baby being starved? Starved?

Sooooo many time step monsters have it out for biological mom they gett to them by hurting their kids.

Poor, sweet love. RIP. I am so sorry. This world let yu suffer, honey.

An aside pinpoint marks? Don't think the case here, but in Philly a stepmom in charge pulled the little girls hair out of her head to the point of baldness in places. She had to send to her school. Sooo she knitted into her scalp. Into it! A wig or tracks or weave. The dear child's name escapes me. Ill look for it.

Prayers for This child's family. Especially her mommy.

 

[kelsie]

The stepmom's face makes me think drugs. MOO.

 

[borndem]

Just saw this. Heartbreaking -- hoping someone looks into this...
The article mentioned that a ggfundmm had been set up for funeral costs -- now who will get/administer that?

--------------------------------
Neighbor of Minn. Girl, 8, Who Was Killed and Allegedly Denied Meds Says She Heard Verbal Abuse

"An 8-year-old lost her life and she didn't need to," said neighbor Sabrina McWilliam

By Chris Harris
August 20, 2020 10:13 AM
A neighbor of the Minnesota couple accused of starving and killing the man's 8-year-old daughter says she called the police at least five times within the last year to report them for alleged abuse.
"An 8-year-old lost her life and she didn't need to," Sabrina McWilliam, a resident of The Depot at Elk River Station apartment complex in Elk River, told WCCO. "When I heard it was this family, I wasn't surprised."
[...]
Two other children living in the home were unharmed, according to police in Elk River.
"You can sit out here any time of the day and hear both of them screaming at these kids, cussing at them," McWilliam told WCCO.
According to McWilliam, she called the police to report what she heard repeatedly.
“Oh at least 5 times this year, at least,” she said, adding she watched as authorities took Autumn's father into custody.
[...]
During the course of their investigation, detectives spoke to other children who live in the home.
The couple's son, 6, allegedly said his parents would tie Autumn up with a belt before putting her in a sleeping bag, leaving only her head exposed. The boy also said they'd used a shirt to tie her hands behind her back, the documents allege.
---------------------
More here:
Neighbor of Minn. Girl, 8, Who Was Killed and Allegedly Denied Meds Says She Heard Verbal Abuse

 

[kelsie]

Just saw this. Heartbreaking -- hoping someone looks into this...
The article mentioned that a ggfundmm had been set up for funeral costs -- now who will get/administer that?

Probably Autumn's mom Kelsey or other maternal family members

 

[Clair Louise]

That's disgusting. WHY WHY WHY fight for a child and then mistreat her at all, especially enough to kill her!

They do it to torture the mother and they may have to pay a larger slice of child support.

 

[borndem]

Mugshots.
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15909630/2020/08/brett-and-sarah-hallow-mug-.png?w=1280

ETA: Wonder what happened to stepmonster’s face?

It looks like a blood smear there on her forehead, from what I can tell.

 

[borndem]

Just saw this, and dammit:

Before Minn. Girl's Death, Police Were Called to Dad and Girlfriend's Home 30 Times

Autumn Hallow's mother had a protective order against the girl's stepmom, who now stands accused of murder


By Chris Harris
August 21, 2020 02:29 PM
Within the last two years, police in Elk River, Minnesota, have responded to the residence of Brett and Sarah Hallow on 30 separate occasions — mostly on calls from anonymous neighbors complaining about loud yelling and screaming coming from inside the apartment.
[...]
Police records obtained by PEOPLE indicate police conducted five "welfare checks" at the Hallow's apartment, and responded to 13 calls about noise coming from the residence – the first, in February of 2019, and the most recent, on May 23.
[...]
Victim's Mom Had Protective Order Against Stepmom

Several calls involved custody disputes between the Hallows and Autumn's mother, Kelsey Kruse, who had a protective order against Sarah Hallow, according to the records. On May 2, 2019, police investigated "suspicious injuries" to one of the children, and reported the matter to the Sherburne County's Health and Human Services.

More:
Before Minn. Girl's Death, Police Were Called to Dad and Girlfriend's Home 30 Times

 

[Baciagalupo]

So it's completely useless calling police it seems.

 

[kelsie]

CPS NEEDS TO DO BETTER.
I can't help but be reminded of the Powell family and how it was ruled that Josh could have supervised visits at his house then murdered his kids after slamming the door in the social worker's face.