A couple facing horrific allegations has been accused of subjecting two teenagers to appalling mistreatment, including shooting them with BB guns and confining them in a chicken pen.
Chantel Hayford, identified as the mother of the teens, along with her boyfriend Jerry Menees, were arrested following reports of severe neglect and abuse endured by the 13 and 14-year-old victims over a two-year period. Authorities disclosed that the couple allegedly organized “fight nights,” during which the teenagers were coerced into physically harming each other within a continuous pattern of abuse. Shockingly, at the culmination of the reported abuse, the mother purportedly offered to exchange the children for a mere $77 each, equivalent to a phone.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation in December after the Division of Family Services received a report from a concerned individual who claimed that the boys had sought food at their residence during the summer. Subsequently, Hayford and Menees were apprehended at their Missouri home, where the teenagers recounted the harrowing experiences they had endured with their mother and her partner.
According to law enforcement, one of the teenagers allegedly suffered from severe depression, resorting to consuming bugs, leaves, and even caulking — a substance used in construction to seal gaps. The other teenager was reportedly forced to ingest caulking at a child’s birthday party, in one of the disturbing instances of abuse.
The individual who alerted authorities to the situation provided distressing details of the alleged maltreatment inflicted by the children’s mother.
Allegedly, the mother proposed trading her children for a phone and a phone plan worth $231, with the children never having been enrolled in school and lacking basic literacy skills for their age. Medical examinations revealed that the teenagers were severely underweight, possibly due to the adults providing them with drugs and alcohol. Moreover, the couple allegedly wielded real firearms to intimidate the teenagers, threatening them with harm if they disclosed the abuse.
Police reports also mentioned that the property where the abuse occurred was in a deplorable state, with feces found smeared on the floors and beds. Menees faces charges including kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, armed criminal action, and child abuse or neglect, while Hayford is charged with kidnapping, domestic assault, sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, and child abuse or neglect.
Both individuals are currently in custody, being detained without bail.