Photo: Spalding County Sheriff's Office
A couple in Georgia is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, after their emaciated ten-year-old son was found searching for food. The Griffin Police Department said that the boy managed to escape from his house and was found wandering the streets by a neighbor, who called 911.
The child was barefoot and hungry and begged not to be returned home.
"I just had a child walk past my house alone. We went out to see if everything was okay. He's asking us not to tell his parents. I don't even know who his parents are," the woman who called 911 told a dispatcher.
"He begged us not to take him home," she added.
When police arrived, they were shocked at the boy's condition, describing him as "thin with discolored skin and visible injuries" and weighing just 36 pounds. The boy told the officers that he had left his house to find a grocery store to get food. He was rushed to the hospital and treated for malnutrition and a low heart rate.
The boy's parents, Tyler Schindley, 46, and Krista Schindley, 47, were taken into custody and are being held without bond.
"As a mother, I can't comprehend it. As a human being, it breaks your heart. We aren't releasing any photos of this child for obvious reasons, but I will tell you, the photos are absolutely horrible, and anybody with a human heart, who looks at them, should be shaken to their core," Spalding County District Attorney Marie Broder said.