West Virginia trio arrested after being accused of locking up 2-year-old twins in 'Hell-on-Earth' condition

2023-05-11 02:59

According to the sheriff, the children were locked in their room in the apartment for 'as many as six weeks at a time'

RIPLEY, WEST VIRGINIA: A trio in West Virginia has been taken into custody after they allegedly locked up two-year-old twins in a "very soiled-conditions type of bedroom" and left one of the boys "on death's door." A Ripley man named Michael Gillenwater, his wife Lylee Gillenwater, and her boyfriend Brian Casto have been accused of self-medicating the pair to put them to sleep and locking them in squalid conditions for days, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

On Monday, May 8, officers came across the toddlers after one of them suffered from "complete renal failure" and found him unresponsive. "The neglect had reached such a level that one of the two-year-olds had lost consciousness and was on death’s door when the notification was made to the sheriff’s office," stated Sheriff Ross Mellinger. "The twin two-year-old boys had, basically, been locked in a Hell-on-Earth type of situation within their apartment room," he added, reported New York Post.

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Toddlers were locked in room 'as many as six weeks at a time'

According to the sheriff, the children were in a state of dehydration and malnutrition and were locked in their room in the apartment for "as many as six weeks at a time." Talking about the way the parents treated the children, Mellinger stated, "I think it’s fair to say that, given the circumstances at hand, I think the average barnyard animal would probably provide better parental care and nurture than what these kids were afforded through the three adults living in this home."

One of the children was shifted to the CAMC Women and Children's Hospital, in Charleston after he suffered renal failure and was later transported to Morgantown's Ruby Memorial Hospital. The sheriff said that the toddler was in a "very, very dire situation," and will be undergoing several medical procedures and added that it remains unclear "whether he’s even going to survive or not."

Police found a third female along with the boy’s twin and authorities removed them both from the home. It also remains unclear about the female child's relationship with the family. It was not immediately clear what her relationship was with the family.

What are the charges against the trio?

Describing the three adults as "animals," Mellinger said that the child who was seen unconscious was on "death's door" when they found him. "Every time you see an incident like this, it really puts a lot of things in perspective, not only from a law enforcement standpoint but from a parental standpoint," said Mellinger.

"It’s just amazing to me that animals like this still exist – where becoming a parent is a burden, and living in such a nasty environment," he added. While Michael faces charges with two counts of child neglect resulting in injury and child neglect with serious risk of injury or death, Lylee has been charged with two counts of child neglect resulting in injury. Lylee's boyfriend Catso also faces charges with one count of child abuse with risk of injury and one count of child abuse resulting in injury, according to New York Post.