David & Vanessa Hall Has A Blind 17yo Autistic Son Who Weighs 88 Lbs But He's Not Dead Yet

[cubby]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...said-he-had-the-flu-police-say-he-was-abused/

By the time David and Vanessa Hall brought their autistic son to the hospital last week, the 17-year-old weighed just 88 pounds.

David Hall told doctors at Longmont United Hospital in Longmont, Colo., that he thought his son was suffering from the flu and had lost 10 to 15 pounds in recent days.

Doctors, however, quickly realized the teenager’s condition was far more serious.

They would later tell police that the teenager was suffering from a variety of maladies associated with severe malnourishment, including hypovolemic shock, kidney failure, pneumonia, pressure sores and a depletion of vitamins and minerals so severe that the medical staff said they had never witnessed anything like it, according to an arrest warrant affidavit cited by the Longmont Times-Call.

One doctor described the teenager’s heath “as being consistent with someone who would have been in a concentration camp for several years,” the affidavit said. A detective described the teenager as looking younger than his age, with “sunken eyes” and “little to no muscle tone,” the paper reported.

Instead of a short hospital stay, doctors determined that the teenager — whose name was not released because he is a minor — would require weeks of intensive medical care and six months of “closely monitored nutritional care” to increase his weight, the paper reported.

His parents, meanwhile, have been accused of child abuse. Police arrested the couple, both 52, Tuesday and charged them with felony child abuse and negligent serious bodily injury to an at-risk person, the Times-Call reported.

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett told the paper that the teenager’s condition has improved since he has been under the care of doctors.

The teenager’s parents told investigators that their son, who is also blind, had not been to a doctor in eight years, according to Fox affiliate KDVR. The boy had not been to school or received dental care during those years either, the station reported.

The Halls told investigators that their son is a “picky eater” whose diet consisted of cheesy cracker snacks, yogurt and seven or eight sodas per day, the station reported, citing an affidavit. The Cheetos, Doritos and sodas the teenager consumed amounted to about 500 calories a day, the affidavit said. The teenager was also forced to relieve himself using a jug beside his bed, the affidavit noted.

“David Hall told a Longmont detective he did not believe his son’s food choices were the best, but he and his wife did not know what else to do,” the Times-Call reported. “When asked why they had not reached out for assistance, neither parent could supply an answer, according to the affidavit.”

When a police detective arrived at the hospital to talk to the parents on the day of the boy’s admittance, the couple had left to take care of their pets, the court record showed, and a caseworker who later interviewed David Hall said he seemed concerned about losing government assistance payments.

Dr. Matthew Haemer, a nutritional physician who is treating the youth, told investigators it would take at least a month before the teen’s condition is no longer considered life-threatening, and six more months of proper nutrition before he approaches a normal weight.

Neighbors told the Times-Call that the teenager was rarely seen outside the trailer where the family lives, and some suspected he was home-schooled. At least one neighbor who had seen the teenager thought he was much younger in age.

“He’s always inside,” Alma Rubio, a neighbor, told the paper. “They never have him outside. Sometimes he’s in the fence outside.”

“They just told us he had been sick because when he fell down or whatever. … they went to the hospital,” Bud Burrows, another neighbor, told the paper. “They had the ambulance and firetruck out here. It was like 1 o’clock in the morning last week. We didn’t really say anything to them because we didn’t really know it was them at first.”

“I haven’t seen (their son) in a little bit,” Burrows added. “He generally stays inside most of the time. He would come out into the yard, messing around back there and you could hear him back there. But for the most part, he stayed inside.”

David Hall, who works as a shuttle driver, has no criminal record, according to an affidavit cited by the Times-Call. A judge set his bond was set at $50,000 this week, noting that he is not considered a risk to the community. Vanessa Hall, the paper reported, posted a $100,000 bond following her arrest.

 

[lithiumgirl]

The teenager’s parents told investigators that their son, who is also blind, had not been to a doctor in eight years, according to Fox affiliate KDVR. The boy had not been to school or received dental care during those years either, the station reported.

Fucking Brutal.

I know people who are visually impaired and who keep apartments and live

independently in the community and have meaningful lives, this is fucking disgusting.

Pieces of shit ... totally ripping that kid off.
[doublepost=1473647895,1473647352][/doublepost]

The Halls told investigators that their son is a “picky eater”

There is data that suggests the whole picky eater thing is child abuse or otherwise

bad parenting.

 

[Muriel Schwenck]

They gave up on their son, but they couldn't give up those government benefits..

 

[Keepalowprofile]

caseworker who later interviewed David Hall said he seemed concerned about losing government assistance payments.

I hope the case worker told then not to worry. They will get govermment assisted housing amd meals where they are going.

The teenager’s parents told investigators that their son, who is also blind, had not been to a doctor in eight years,

The boy had not been to school or received dental care during those years either, the station reported.

So fucked up. I hope these parents get the max sentence. Disgusting fucking pigs.

 

[mybum62]

These parents were lazy asses who cared more about themselves than their son. Who gives a child seven or eight sodas and a bag of doritoes a day for nutrition. There is NO nutritional value in any of that. I'll bet his teeth are rotting out of his mouth. I can't stand for anybody to go hungry...especially a child of any age....and especially a child that is totally unable to fend for themselves. They kept him isolated. They hid him because they knew what they were doing was wrong.

I agree...all these parents wanted was the government checks. I hope he is never sent back to live with these monsters. How the hell did the mother come up with her bond so fast...they live in a trailer. It seems the father...who did work outside the home...totally left the son's care up to his wife...the boys mother and didn't give a shit to step up to the plate until he realized his kid was going to die. Wow just so f'd up. I hope they get the max sentence. I wonder if they have other kids.

 

[Forensicwx]

They didn't know who to reach out to, huh?
Try googling the name of the agency written on that check you get every month, assfaces. You knew who to reach out to in order to get those payments started, which I'm sure needed to be justified and supported by quite a few doctors.

Disgusting. They systematically and deliberately tortured this poor kid. Not from ignorance, but from a lack of giving a flying fuck about their cash cow.

Wanna bet that neither one has or has had a job innnn.....oh idk....about 16 &1/2 years or so?

Throw the book at them.

 

[Sudonim]

There is data that suggests the whole picky eater thing is child abuse or otherwise

bad parenting.

There are different scales of picky eating. Some kids just are stubborn and some parents just don't care, but there is a group in there that picky eating is a serious issue. Some people have SED (selective eating disorder). It is a disorder and has nothing to do with child abuse. The only time picky eating becomes child abuse is if it's on the extreme end of the scale and the parents don't seek any help.

I have a child with it. Until just before 2yrs old he ate everything, then a switch flipped and he will starve himself vs eat something new or different. I've taken him to all kinds of specialists. For a while they didn't care what he ate, it was all about him getting enough calories and the vitamins came via supplements.

It's reported that this boy has autism and most children with autism suffer some form of SED. He probably is a picky eater, but that's not why he's skinny and malnourished. There are 150 calories in 11 Doritos chips. There are 139 calories in 1 can of Coke. They reported he was being feed about 500 calories a day. Your body burns more than 500 calories a day in restive state alone. Even with a shitty diet he could have maintained or even gained weight if they had simply fed him more calories and given him vitamins.

 

[cubby]

they may have thrown a bag of Doritos at him several times a day but most likely didn't care if he ate them or not.

 

[Brenni]

Go home and take care of pets ...
W.t.f Fluffy is taken care of better then your child ... so it seems
.. I will never understand this total disregard for humanity.
This poor kid probably doesn't even know what normal is any show of affection <3<3
A simple act of kindness you would show a total stranger.
.... he literally had NOTHING

 

[lithiumgirl]

The only time picky eating becomes child abuse is if it's on the extreme end of the scale and the parents don't seek any help.

So child abuse.

I had a picky eater too but I was a better manipulator than him.

When I offered him Salad, he said No leaves for me Mom.

I smiled at him and said okay, no salad for you and made a mental note to make

spaghetti the next day to which I added a bag of chopped and de-veined spinach,

because spinach when you chop it right turns into the invisible man of spaghetti

ingredients. And fuck you kid...tell me NO leaves for you.

 

[robin299]

I want to see a picture of these careless piles of shit! Seems to me.. And actually it is the sad reality they don't care how the kid lives as long as they keep him just alive enough to keep him from dying so every so often they feed him bullshit snacks... Pop... Anything to keep him just barely alive so they can continue living off their sons benefits

They need to die now.. Take that boy away for good

I need to add maybe if the parents took the time to talk to their son and tell him what he is eating he would eat! He is blind.. He cannot see!! .. Im sorry but if my daughter was a picky eater and near death and she was blind i would lie to her and tell her what she wants to hear just so she eats it! So they want to play the picky eater card.. I am not buying it!

 

[mybum62]

they may have thrown a bag of Doritos at him several times a day but most likely didn't care if he ate them or not.

I had the same image in my mind as soon as I read it. They didn't care enough to take the time to prepare his meals and feed him...due to his disabilities he probably had difficulty feeding himself...and was probably messy. Just sayn cuz I worked with autistic adults for 30 years. Another set of parents that totally failed their child by starving him...while its quite obvious they didn't go without themselves.

 

[kennasmom]

When a police detective arrived at the hospital to talk to the parents on the day of the boy’s admittance, the couple had left to take care of their pets, the court record showed, and a caseworker who later interviewed David Hall said he seemed concerned about losing government assistance payments.

You would think that if the government is giving you money for a disabled child that they would need reconfirmation every now and then that the child is still disabled, like from a doctor. For all the government knew the kid had been dead all this time. And no one noticed he wasn't in school?

 

[Alf]

Your body burns more than 500 calories a day in restive state alone.

Yep. Roughly 10 Calories per pound per day plus another 30 to 50% depending on one's activity level is what I learned.

So. 88 pounds x 10 Calories equals 880 Calories plus 30% for a sedentary lifestyle equals 1144 Calories per day. His caloric intake was less than half of what it should have been.

--Al

 

[thatsmallgrl]

June 27, 2017

A Boulder District Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Longmont parents of a blind, autistic teenage boy who was malnourished nearly to death should spend the next decade in prison, saying she had seen no evidence they had taken accountability.

David and Vanessa Hall, who pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury, were handcuffed at the end of their sentencing hearing, when Judge Ingrid Bakke sentenced them to 10 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections followed by three years of parole.

"There was a conscious decision to isolate him ... so that nobody would see what kind of condition he was in," Bakke said about the boy.

Boulder County prosecutors had requested the parents be sent to prison for 15 years to prevent them from interfering with their son's progress, while defense attorneys argued a community-based punishment with a clear no-contact order would be enough to keep them away.

District Attorney Stan Garnett, who was lead prosecutor in the case, said that because the 10-year sentence is not for a violent crime, the Halls will both likely be eligible for parole after serving 37.5 percent of their sentence, almost four years.

The Halls' son, who has since turned 18 and is living with his aunt in Florida, has made significant improvements since his hospitalization at the end of August 2016, when the case came to light, witnesses for the prosecution said.

Danielle Bernard told the judge today that when she was first assigned as the boy's caseworker in September, he had stunted growth and scurvy, expressed anxiety and fear, was unable to walk and lacked access to essential resources, such as schooling, therapy and medical care essential for children with autism.

She said now, following months of care to reverse almost a decade of abuse, he walks with the help of a cane for the visually impaired, has attended school for the first time in at least nine years, is adored by teachers and friends, loves NASA and eats a balanced diet that includes fruit, milk and whole grains.

"It was their responsibility to make sure he was receiving proper nutrition, and they chose not to," she said about his parents.

Bernard also said that the Halls have acted as the victims in the case, showing no joy or support for their son's achievements while taking credit for his success. She said they continue to be emotionally abusive, for example, telling him alligators are going to get him in Florida and that his ears might explode on the flight there, which prompted their son's anxiety and fear.

Prosecutors argued that the boy's removal from his parents would prevent future harm and allow him to heal, and Shana Cunningham, his behavioral therapist, said he has not requested to call them.

The team of four defense attorneys argued that both Vanessa and David Hall love their son immeasurably and would have never intentionally hurt him, to which Bakke agreed. However, she was confused that the Halls were obsesses with being in contact with the boy since the no-contact order was filed.

"I'm not sure if that's love or it's some sort of manifestation of possessiveness," Bakke said. It's a hard one to interpret."

Vanessa Hall's defense said her own autism diagnosis and attempt at sheltering her son from life's challenges limited her ability to offer him a healthy life, but she was not malevolent or callous.

"How do you sentence someone who has caused a massive amount of harm to someone, but meant well?" defense attorney Ben Collett said.

Defense attorney Nicole Collins said the couple was given poor pediatric advice when they lived in Georgia, before they moved to Colorado. She said a pediatrician told they should "just feed him what he will eat" and that diet is about caloric intake, misguiding their parenting.

Collins said David Hall's acceptance of fault is a slow process since it is difficult for him to accept his role in the harm, but he is working through the grief of losing custody and contact with his son with therapy.

"It's been a process of trying to sort of regulate how 'I can love my son in what I believe was a way that was as great as I could've done and yet end up in a situation in which my child is near death,'" Collins said.

David Hall declined to speak at the hearing. Vanessa Hall addressed the judge, saying she knows now that she should have enrolled her son in school, allowed him to make friends and provided him the opportunity to experience the world, but she was worried about bullies and that the world might be hard on him.

"Every day I think about who (my son) could've been now if I had done better," Vanessa Hall said. "I will never stop thinking about that. It is so hard for me to think of myself as a bad mother."

http://www.timescall.com/top-storie...ntenced-10-years-prison-case-malnourished-son

 

[cubby]

It is so hard for me to think of myself as a bad mother."

Now see, whenever I failed my kids, and I did a few times, I immediately thought of myself as a bad mother, whether it was warranted or not. I am not so self centered to think that I was a good mother without exception every day, I'm willing to admit I could have been lots better.

The very fact that she said something like that makes me not believe she was ever a good mother, too narcissistic to realize that she's not the good mother that she purports to be.

 

[lithiumgirl]

Judge Ingrid Bakke sentenced them to 10 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections followed by three years of parole.

For keeping (just barely) a 88 lbs teenager ... sounds about right to me!

 

[ibutterflyaway]

There's a lot going on here but the bedsores omg So this poor kid was laying straight on his bone until his flesh rotted away. I've seen bedsores. They burrow - like a tunnel - into the body. They are horrible and painful and it's making me sick to think they never moved him. This story is really making me sad. I just made enough chicken alfredo to feed the whole damn demon den and my kids are gone for the summer
[doublepost=1498709016,1498708807][/doublepost]Fucking assholes. I found the mugshots on google but I can't remember how to attach them.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Jesus... Why didn't they just leave him a hot car as an infant instead of trying to kill him slowly over 17 years?

This statement says it all and this is the reason they brought the young man to the hospital.

When a police detective arrived at the hospital to talk to the parents on the day of the boy’s admittance, the couple had left to take care of their pets, the court record showed, and a caseworker who later interviewed David Hall said he seemed concerned about losing government assistance payments.

Families should not be allowed to receive assistance if they do not have proof that the child has been seen by a doctor or is enrolled in school.

 

[Brenni]

The "cruel world" would have been kinder to this poor kid <3Her lame excuses are despicable fuck these pigs and send them to the ovens :devil:

 

[McDanel]

Well, I see what they were doing here. Sure they liked the check, but didn't want to waste their day on the demands of caring for a disabled child. Solution? Keep the cash cow barely alive. We've seen this play out over and over.