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Hellsbells

Trusted Member
A diaper-wearing 7-year-old boy was found in the bug-ridden basement of a condemned Pennsylvania home, where he told police he was forced to sleep in a coffin.

Cops are searching for the couple who live at the boy's address after he was found terrified and alone in the dark last week.

The boy claims he was locked in a coffin and duct-taped to a chair in the home, according to an affidavit filed Friday.

He also explained to authorities he was "often" put in the basement as punishment and told ghosts lived there.

"Are you here to help me?" he said as officers entered the Scranton home on September 26, according to Times-Tribune newspaper.

"I am hungry and I didn't get dinner yet," he reportedly told another officer who asked why he was crying.

Felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful restraint were filed Friday against Lori Gardner, 26, and Brian Sleboda, 31, both of 823 Raines St., the same address where the child was discovered.

The boy showed police the coffin in the basement where he was kept and said Sleboda sometimes used duct tape to seal it shut.

The couple would also "pick up chains and drop them to scare him," according to arrest papers.

Neighbors heard the child crying Sept. 26 and called police.

Scranton police were searching for the couple Monday night.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ment_and_sleep_in_coffin.html?r=news/national

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he reportedly told another officer who asked why he was crying.

Wtf? A seven year old kid is locked in a bug-ridden basement, wearing a diaper (*shudders*), and this Nobel Prize winning psychologist wants to know why he's crying?
 
OMG That poor baby. My son is almost 7 and this story just makes me think of him. I couldn't for the life of me, scare, or hurt my child in that manner or in any way shape of form. Those two hambeast should be locked in a cellar of an abandoned building and never thought of again.
 
Neighbors heard the child crying Sept. 26 and called police.


Thank god for neighbours who hear something amiss and don't just 'mind their own business' and do nothing about it. These neighbours heard, they acted, and now (hopefully) this child will be placed with a decent family and get the love and support he needs to get over this horrible ordeal.


As for those two putrid bastards who did this, burying them alive in tatty old coffins seems like an appropriate punishment. It does to me, anyway.
 
Wtf? A seven year old kid is locked in a bug-ridden basement, wearing a diaper (*shudders*), and this Nobel Prize winning psychologist wants to know why he's crying?

He may have been trying to determine if the kid had injuries that were causing him to cry.

My 15 yr old daughter just called me complaining that there was nothing to eat in the house, I just spent $400 on groceries. Instead of telling her she could order pizza with her credit card, I should have referred her to this story and told her to make a damn PB & J sandwich and be grateful.
 
His parent and step-parent I suppose. Shitbags. A child, yours or not, is not a straight guy for your juvenile excessively mean scare tactics. Hell, if it were just that it'd be more understandable, albeit still pissy of you, but you went over the edge of funny into terroristic. I'd even call it torture. Too bad our prisons aren't dungeons. You'd be right at home.
 
From the newspaper referenced in HB's post:
According to the criminal complaint filed by Detective Vincent Uher on Friday, the child led investigators to the basement coffin, telling them Mr. Sleboda "put him in there" last Monday and locked it.

He was able to break out by pushing on it, the boy told investigators, but sometimes Mr. Sleboda used duct tape to bind the coffin shut.

The basement was nearly pitch black, illuminated only by a "Camel Exotic Blends" sign hung on a wall. In one corner, flies and ticks swarmed around a broken toilet.
[...]

According to the affidavit, Mr. Sleboda was inside the home when police arrived, standing in the kitchen. Ms. Gardner came home while police were searching the property.

Police said Ms. Gardner denied the child was locked in the basement but said he was put there to punish him. She allegedly admitted to duct-taping his arms and hands but stated "they were merely playing a game."

The affidavit contains no statements from Mr. Sleboda.

Mark Seitzinger, city director of licensing, inspections and permits, said the home was infested with bugs and had electrical issues.

"We condemned it (as) unsafe for human habitation,"
Mr. Seitzinger said. "It was awful."

There also was evidence that there had been a fire inside.

"The whole basement - all the supports and cross beams were burned out," Mr. Seitzinger said.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/sc...er-diaper-clad-boy-7-tells-of-abuse-1.1212835
 
Police said late Tuesday the pair wanted for the abuse, Brian Sleboda and Lori Gardner, are now in police custody.
[...]

"It's horrific. It's a terrible indication of how our children are treated in this world," said Assistant District Attorney Mary Ann Grippo.
[...]

"Lot of infestation, a lot of bugs. To be honest with you I don't know what kind of bugs, but they were everywhere. Just not a good situation for anyone to be in. We got in there and did our job, but just not a safe situation," said Mark Seitzinger, director of licensing and permits.

Scranton's head of code enforcement took photographs inside the house showing evidence the place had burned in the past, dangerous wiring and plumbing and, of course, the coffin in the basement.

"It makes us feel pretty good that, yeah, we had to condemn a property, but at the end of the day the people that were there are safe. No one can get harmed there," Seitzinger added.
[...]

As for the 7 year old and a two year old found in the house, they were immediately placed in foster care last week.
http://www.wnep.com/wnep-lacka-couuple-wanted-for-alleged-child-abuse-20111004,0,3686078.story
 
That kid was being housed in a death trap. Glad that he was saved and not after the home collasped with only his remains to be found. I wish for him a happy family that will love him and ease the pain his memories will give him.
 
My 15 yr old daughter just called me complaining that there was nothing to eat in the house, I just spent $400 on groceries. Instead of telling her she could order pizza with her credit card, I should have referred her to this story and told her to make a damn PB & J sandwich and be grateful.

This made me laugh....a blogger was going on about how Martha Stewarts daughter wrote in her book that there were ingredients but no "food" in the home. To that he wrote, "...Martha's refrigerator had bread, butter and cheese in it but not already made grilled cheese sandwiches...."
So your daughter's "predicament" brought that back. Kids!!
 
OMG That poor baby. My son is almost 7 and this story just makes me think of him. I couldn't for the life of me, scare, or hurt my child in that manner or in any way shape of form. Those two hambeast should be locked in a cellar of an abandoned building and never thought of again.
My son too, when you read about someone your own childs age it tends to sock you in the gut. I can't even begin to imagine this boys last 7 yrs.
 
I think it's terrible that this boy, and the 2 yr old were treated so cruely and forced to live in such horrible conditions, but after looking at that photo I don't see how they could have locked a little boy in it. It's only a few inches thick, unless the boy is extremely flat, he couldn't have fit in the coffin.
 
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I was so focused on the 7 year old that I totally missed that there was a 2 year old as well. Fucking animals. Why not get a hobby if they liked to entertain themselves with human grief, GROSS
 
He may have been trying to determine if the kid had injuries that were causing him to cry.

My 15 yr old daughter just called me complaining that there was nothing to eat in the house, I just spent $400 on groceries. Instead of telling her she could order pizza with her credit card, I should have referred her to this story and told her to make a damn PB & J sandwich and be grateful.

I gots to ask...how'd you're 15 year old get a credit card?
 
This story is so incredibly horrific. Children are so scared of the boogeyman at this age. Parents should be telling their children there are no such thing as ghosts and goblins, monsters and vampires. Instead these fucks are encouraging the nightmares. And the sleeping in a coffin? Are they trying to tell him he's dead? That's just bizarre! And there was a fire and nothing was done about it? So fucking odd.

When the 7 year old said he was hungry... I wanted to cry. Poor little guy. He and the 2 year old could come here. I suck at cooking, but make amazing grilled cheese sandwiches and pb&j! I'll take down all the Halloween decorations and hide the scary movies. Their lives have been nothing but a horror movie :( We could have Christmas all year long.
 
I think it's terrible that this boy, and the 2 yr old were treated so cruely and forced to live in such horrible conditions, but after looking at that photo I don't see how they could have locked a little boy in it. It's only a few inches thick, unless the boy is extremely flat, he couldn't have fit in the coffin.

You are right, could be the angle of the picture taken threw off the depth but it doesnt look like anyone, even a child could be in there and have it close all the way. Still is a disgusting thing to scare your own child like that and they probobly thought it was hilarious to make him cry, hell the mom even looks like some movie ghost girl...
 
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I gots to ask...how'd you're 15 year old get a credit card?
I'm with [MENTION=5719]TheZeitgeist[/MENTION] on that [MENTION=2450]Obsolete[/MENTION]. I'm well into my 50's and have never had a credit card. I don't trust my money grabbing ass with one. Can't imagine a kid with one. That's just me personally, though. Plenty of people do fine with 'em.
 
Lori Gardner and Brian Sleboda uttered not a single word as they were escorted out of the Scranton Police headquarters in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon, accused of banishing Gardner's diaper-clad 7-year-old son to a basement coffin as punishment.

The couple turned themselves in at police headquarters on South Washington Avenue Tuesday afternoon, eight days after police were dispatched to a home ay 823 Raines St. and four days after charges were formally filed in the case.
[...]

Gardner, 26, and Sleboda, 31, were arraigned Tuesday night before Magisterial District Judge Robert G. Russell on felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful restraint.
[...]

Scranton police Capt. Carl Graziano, who heads the department's patrol division, said patrol officers did not arrest Sleboda and Gardner at the scene as the child first needed to be questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Children's Advocacy Center as part of the investigation.

Detective Capt. Al Leoncini said that when Detective Vincent Uher took over the investigation on Sept. 27, the incident required follow-up investigation prior to charges being filed against Sleboda and Gardner on Friday.
[...]

Gardner arrived at the home during the initial investigation and told officers that, while the child was placed in the basement as punishment, the door was not locked, according to the complaint.

However, inside the home where Sleboda had been throughout the ordeal, officers found the door leading to the basement locked with a door handle lock and a slide lock, according to the complaint.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/parents-in-abuse-case-arraigned-sent-to-jail-1.1213253
 
I gots to ask...how'd you're 15 year old get a credit card?

I'm with [MENTION=5719]TheZeitgeist[/MENTION] on that [MENTION=2450]Obsolete[/MENTION] . I'm well into my 50's and have never had a credit card. I don't trust my money grabbing ass with one. Can't imagine a kid with one. That's just me personally, though. Plenty of people do fine with 'em.

It's a card off of my account, she didn't apply for a CC or anything. We gave both of our children credit cards in case of...well not emergencies, but for the times that they need something and we're not around to give them money. Neither have ever use it without calling first.

It's usually something like I'm out of town or at work and they want pizza, or they're at the mall with their friends and see something they want. They can't just use it willy nilly though.

Yes they're fucking spoiled, but they don't act like it and that's what matters to me.
 
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Stacey Gogas recalls seeing the 7-year-old boy just two days before police say they found the child scared and hungry in a Green Ridge basement to which he had allegedly been banished by his mother and stepfather.

"He was a pleasant little boy. ... He was just asking a lot of questions," said Ms. Gogas, who said she saw Lori Gardner's son at his grandparents' house in Scott Twp. on Sept. 24.
[...]

Ms. Gogas and her husband were working on property they own on Rushbrook Road in Scott Twp. two days earlier when she saw the boy at the home of Ms. Gardner's parents nearby. On that Saturday, the boy was wearing his school shirt then as well, which Ms. Gogas found "odd," but did not think much of it until she heard the news of the case this week.

"It didn't surprise me whatsoever," she said. "It actually scared me that her (Ms. Gardner's) behavior escalated that she could do this terror on other people."
[...]

Her arrest along with Mr. Sleboda, 31, on Tuesday was not the first brush with the law for Ms. Gardner, 26 - a history Ms. Gogas knows all too well.

According to The Times-Tribune archives, Ms. Gardner was brought up on harassment charges in 2004 after she repeatedly blasted music with racially tinged lyrics from her trailer in Scott Twp. toward the home of the Gogases, a Puerto Rican family next door.

"She had put a speaker in the back door and blasted the music for hours," said Ms. Gogas, at whose home Ms. Gardner, then Lori Green, directed the music. "It kept going over the lyrics about how it was going to eradicate me, destroy me, my people."

Ms. Gogas - who had been the target of a lawsuit filed by Ms. Gardner's father, Robert Green - said the two families had a history of problems when, in 2004, Ms. Gardner began blasting the song "Conflict" by the band Disturbed from her trailer, decked out with a confederate flag hanging in the window.

"She would blast this music from like eight o'clock in the morning into the middle of the afternoon to the point where I would call the police," Ms. Gogas said Wednesday.

Since then, Ms. Gogas said Ms. Gardner had not had any communication with her, but she would see her from afar periodically when the 26-year-old would visit her parents, who live near the property Ms. Gogas' family still owns but where they no longer live.
[...]
http://thetimes-tribune.com/neighbo...-center-of-abuse-case-1.1214176#axzz1a09RGNGo
 
I don't particularly care for the psychologist asking "why are you crying" in an obvious situation, rather than ask if he is hurt or what bothers him most. When you ask a child why they are crying, you subliminally are saying "crying" is the issue...NOT what made them cry and you are not showing sensitivity. When you say to a child crying and ask "what happened?" you will easier get a response because you are showing concern. Ask a child why they are crying and they are more than likely to "check" the crying and clam up or cry harder. But what do we know as moms, we're not psychologists....
 
[MENTION=727]Morgana[/MENTION] It wasn't a psychologist that asked why he was crying.

I am hungry and I didn't get dinner yet," he reportedly told another officer who asked why he was crying.

It was one of the first officers to respond to the home.
 
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