A Pennsylvania couple, Joshua and Tracy Dechant, ages 36 and 452, have been arrested after authorities allege that they inflicted "multiple types of abuse" on their twin sons. Reportedly, both boys were concerningly malnourished and one of the boys told police that he was forced to strip naked and run across the extremely cold street as a punishment.
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According to the New York Post, authorities began investigating the Dechant family when neighbors called police back in January. Reportedly, someone witnessed one of the 15-year-old twins, running around nearly naked through the single-digit cold street. The boy would tell police that his stepfather, Tracy Dechant, allegedly forced him to do so as a punishment.
Neighbors and police found that the boy was malnourished and famished. Authorities would also find the other twin after meeting the Dechant couple. Said twin was in a similar condition as his brother's. It was at that moment that both twin boys revealed to the police the amount of trauma and abuse they had endured.
Abuse
According to NBC Philadelphia, the boys stated that their parents had inflicted "multiple types of abuse" on them. This included depriving them of water and food, forcing them to be naked at home or outside in the cold, and forcing them to sleep together on the floor with nothing but a single blanket.
Once transported to the hospital, it was revealed that the twins weighed only 53 and 55 pounds, respectively. Medical records showed that the twins had only gained 10 pounds in the past eight years. Police would also interview the twin boys' older sister. She revealed she had endured similar abuse in the past. She no longer lives with them or her parents.
Video footage taken from Joshua's and Tracy's cell phones showed the twin boys naked inside and outside the house, sharing a single blanket to cover themselves while they slept. This corroborated what they had previously told authorities.
The boys would later reveal to the police that other types of abuse included hitting, showering in cold water, and being locked inside their home by themselves. Reportedly, they both hadn't been in contact with anyone outside the house in a year.
The twin boys were later discharged from the hospital. According to the Post, they have been prescribed medication to treat medical issues. Said issues, if left untreated, would have certainly killed them.
Joshua and Tracy Dechant were charged with conspiracy to commit third-degree murder, aggravated assault, and child endangerment. They are currently being held on $200,000 bail each. Preliminary hearings will begin on February 27.
I wonder if they were out of the parachute envelope? Sad. RIP.
No parachute deployed?