Deputies Find Young Boy Locked In Dog Kennel Outside; Stepmother, Father And Stepmother’s Aunt Arrested

A young boy in North Carolina was found inside a padlocked dog kennel, and he said he’d been living there for months.

His parents and even his neighbors knew about him allegedly being forced to sleep in a dog kennel because there was no room for him in the home where his father and stepmother live, according to search warrants, The Hill reports.

This is the case for a 9-year-old boy who was found by Davidson County deputies when they arrived at a Lexington home on Oct. 19.

The boy — who was found in a t-shirt with jeans and no shoes — was immediately taken to the hospital, reports the news outlet. It was freeing outside, and frost was seen on the ground when deputies broke the padlock to get the child.
Police arrived at the home after receiving an anonymous call about the boy’s living conditions at around 7 a.m. The person who called told authorities that she and her husband brought the child food “in the past.” Sarah said she had two other children who were living with her. They were at school at the time and have since been taken in by the Department of Social Services.

Police arrested the child’s father, Jonathan Starr; his stepmother, Sarah Starr, and the stepmother’s aunt, Shelley Barnes, who also owns the property. They have all been charged with felony child abuse. The Starrs have also been charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious physical injury, misdemeanor child abuse and false imprisonment.