El Paso couple arrested after adopted teen found beaten, malnourished and near death

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — An El Paso couple is facing child abuse allegations after their adopted teenage son ended up in the hospital nearly dying as doctors discovered he had been beaten and severely malnourished, likely for years.

Jail records show Timothy Aaron Sibley and Katrina Gabrielle Sibley were arrested on October 7 and charged with injury to a child.

Court documents describe that the charges stem from an investigation that started September 5, after the couple took their adopted 13-year-old son to the hospital unconscious, with fractures on his ribs and spine, bruises all over his body, suffering from hypothermia and showing signs of being “extremely malnourished.”

The documents add that for 25 minutes, medical staff performed chest compressions and “rescue breaths,” done when a person stops breathing.

Doctors told investigators they were highly concerned for the child, as he weighed 33 pounds and is “literally skin and bone.”

Jordan Salas reports on El Paso couple arrested after adopted teen found beaten, malnourished and near death (Credit: KFOX14)

According to court documents, parents told investigators that the boy was disabled, citing that the boy has Joubert syndrome (a rare genetic disorder that affects brain development), dwarfism, and short-rib thoracic dysplasia, but has never been officially diagnosed.

However, doctors appear to dispute those claims, saying that the child’s brain scans are different from those with Joubert and that his body scans didn’t show his limbs were short like a child with dwarfism.

Doctors reviewing the child’s CT scans told investigators that the boy appeared to be malnourished for years as his body had started to “break down” brain tissue for nutrition.

Furthermore, the doctors found that the boy had a severe infection caused by pneumonia, his heart was only working at 30 percent, and fractures on his spine similar to the ones a person suffers when they crash without a seat belt.

Doctors also described that the boy had multiple bed ulcers from lying on his back for a long time, saying the 13-year-old boy’s back looks like that of an 80-year-old.

Also, doctors said the boy’s lungs showed “aspiration pneumonitis,” which they said is caused by “breathing contents, possibly vomit” in the airways, another possible indication that the child had been on his back for the majority of the time.

Doctors added that the boy has an acute kidney injury requiring the boy to be on dialysis.

Doctors believe the boy had not been properly fed since he was 3 or 5 years old, adding that now they believe it is “too late for the child to grow” and that the child will most likely not survive.

Investigators spoke with siblings of the boy (age 6 and 13), who described the abuse they allegedly witnessed.

According to the documents, the 6-year-old described to investigators that the boy would get spanked and whipped a lot with a belt, and punched and kicked as well for “misbehaving.”

The 6-year-old also said that the boy would drink water from the toilet, “steal” food from the pantry and sometimes get caught on security camera eating his own feces.

The 13-year-old sibling cried when speaking with investigators, saying that they wanted to be honest but were scared to tell the truth and revealing that Timothy reportedly told them to “not say anything to the police.”

In the documents, doctors explain to investigators that the boy’s behavior– as described by the siblings– indicates that the boy has not been properly fed or given water and so the child takes advantage of any chance to eat and drink.

In the documents, investigators detail that they spoke with Timothy, Katrina and another relative.

Timothy told investigators that before taking the boy to the hospital, in the morning he had taken the boy to a relative’s home where he was to be watched while he worked.

Timothy said the boy was fine, adding that he had eaten dinner (but couldn’t say what) and that it wasn’t until 1:30 a.m. when Katrina woke him up saying that the boy was having a seizure.

Regarding the bruises, Timothy allegedly told investigators that he spanks the boy when he disciplines him for “stealing” food and that he does “military” style discipline, making the child do pushups and jumping jacks; but denied hurting the boy.

Meanwhile, Katrina and the other relative told investigators that the child had been “acting normal,” adding that he had helped around the house doing yard work and had eaten ice cream and drank a Capri Sun.

Katrina also said the boy had eaten dinner but also couldn’t describe what he had eaten.

Investigators visited the boy’s bedroom, describing that the room has a small air mattress, a torn pillow and blanket, was not furnished, had a lock on the outside, a motion sensor on the door, and was under camera surveillance.

The investigators said that it was the only room in the home with a camera and noted that the sibling’s bedrooms were completely furnished.

According to jail records, Timothy is charged with “injury to a child” and “injury to a child involving intentional or knowing serious bodily injury or serious mental impairment/deficiency” and is held on a combined bond of $265,000.

Meanwhile, Katrina is charged with “injury to a child involving intentional or knowing serious bodily injury or serious mental impairment/deficiency” and is held under a $1,000,000 bond.

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