WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.680 Before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to let 2 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:06.799 you know about Morbidology Plus, our premium subscription available through 3 00:00:06.839 --> 00:00:10.880 Apple Subscriptions. When you join Morbidology Plus, you'll get completely 4 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.599 ad free episodes, so you can immerse yourself in these 5 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:17.760 stories without interruption. Plus subscribers also get early access to 6 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:21.359 new episodes before anybody else, and exclusive bonus episodes of 7 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:25.640 Morbidology Plus that aren't on the regular podcast platforms. If 8 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.199 you love diving deep into true crime and want to 9 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.199 support the show while getting that extra content, please check 10 00:00:31.239 --> 00:00:35.200 out Morbidology Plus in your Apple Podcasts app Well, let's 11 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:36.479 get into today's case. 12 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:17.280 He was attention deficit, hyperactive disordered, as well as artistic. 13 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:20.799 He had speech and motor impairments. 14 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:36.319 Norton Shores is the kind of place that slips easily 15 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.519 into the background of a map. It's quiet, picturesque, and unassuming. 16 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:44.599 Tucked along the western edge of Michigan in Muskegon County, 17 00:01:44.840 --> 00:01:48.760 this lakeside community sits cradled between the tranquil waters of 18 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:52.480 Mona Lake and the vast, endless stretch of Lake Michigan. 19 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.239 Its routes reached back to eighteen forty five, when it 20 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.159 was first carved from Ottawa County and named Norton Township. 21 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:04.680 Two years later, Robinson's Mill rose near Mona Lake, and 22 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.680 in the decades that followed, the dense forest gave way 23 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:11.360 to fruit farms. By the eighteen fifties, berries and apples 24 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:14.599 were the backbone of the local economy, carded by hand 25 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.319 to wading boats that connected the inland lake to the 26 00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:21.240 open waters of Lake Michigan. By the late nineteen sixties, 27 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:25.680 change loomed. Facing the threat of annexation, the township made 28 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:29.840 a decision. In nineteen sixty eight. It formerly incorporated as 29 00:02:29.879 --> 00:02:33.199 the city of Norton Shores. Since then, the city has 30 00:02:33.240 --> 00:02:37.919 settled into its identity part suburb port rural haven, a 31 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:41.120 place where people go to live quietly, raise families, and 32 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.599 grow old in peace. Just a short drive from the 33 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:48.360 local airport lies Marshall Road, a neatly kept neighborhood of 34 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:52.240 single family homes, the kind of street where kids ride 35 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:55.800 bikes on the pavement and neighbors greet one another by name. 36 00:02:56.840 --> 00:02:59.719 The lawns are clipped and the mail boxes are upright. 37 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:06.439 From the outside, everything appears ordinary. But in twenty twenty two, 38 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:10.360 something happened on Marshall Road that would shatter that illusion, 39 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:12.919 and I'm one. One call came in from a woman 40 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:17.960 who reported that her teenage son was unresponsive. At first glance, 41 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:21.599 it seemed like a tragic accident, but that wasn't the 42 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:26.960 truth behind those walls. Something sinister had been happening for 43 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:45.319 some time. Norton Shores was home to a fifteen year 44 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:50.520 old boy named Timothy Ferguson. Timothy's parents, Shanda vander Ark 45 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:53.800 and Eric Ferguson, had separated when he was still a 46 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:58.639 little boy. The couple had four children together, Nolan, Paul, Millie, 47 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:03.120 and Timothy. After the breakup, their lives took different paths. 48 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:07.479 Shanda eventually moved to Michigan with Timothy, while Eric headed 49 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:11.400 south to Florida. In Norton Shore, as Timothy didn't just 50 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:15.199 live with his mother, his older brother, Paul, who was 51 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.720 twenty at the time, also lived in the home. Shanda 52 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:21.360 had a younger son as well, just seven years old. 53 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:25.360 The family had once lived in Oklahoma, but by now 54 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:27.519 they were trying to rebuild in a new place in 55 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:31.480 a new chapter. After the divorce, Shanda had remarried a 56 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:36.120 man named Adam. She studied law at Western Michigan University's 57 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:39.240 Cooley Law School and passed the bor exam on her 58 00:04:39.319 --> 00:04:42.879 very first try. It was a remarkable accomplishment, and it 59 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:45.240 led her to work as a law clerk for two 60 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:50.000 different circuit court judges. Her job involved conducting legal research 61 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:55.480 in preparing case memoranda, intellectual work that demanded focus and precision. 62 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:59.079 She worked full time, forty hours a week, earning just 63 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:03.439 over nineteen dollars per R. The tragedy struck again when Adam, 64 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:09.439 her husband, suffered a debilitating stroke. The family dynamics shifted drastically. 65 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.279 With Adam unable to work, Shanna became the sole provider, 66 00:05:13.800 --> 00:05:16.920 juggling a demanding legal career with the needs of her household. 67 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:20.680 At home, her adult son Paul, took on a caretaker role, 68 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:24.959 particularly when it came to Timothy, who needed more support 69 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:29.279 than most. Timothy had been diagnosed with multiple developmental and 70 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:33.560 mental health conditions. He was on the autism spectrum, had 71 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:38.240 attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and also lived with bipolar disorder. 72 00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:41.519 Each of these things on their own could be difficult 73 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:45.240 to manage, but together they formed a complex web that 74 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:50.160 made every day life more challenging. Autism spectrum disorder often 75 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:54.519 meant that Timothy experienced the world differently. His sensory input 76 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:58.600 could be overwhelming at times, and social interaction didn't come easy. 77 00:05:59.480 --> 00:06:02.639 He had and motor delays that made communication and movement 78 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:07.600 more difficult. ADHD then added another layer, with bursts of 79 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:12.079 energy and difficulty focusing or sitting still. My polar disorder 80 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:16.519 introduced emotional volatility, sharp eyes, and painful lows that could 81 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:20.319 come without warning. But not of that to find Timothy. 82 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:24.160 He was a Sweden imaginative boy, one who found comfort 83 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:28.959 and joy in small, focused activities. He loved building legos, 84 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:33.040 following the instructions meticulously, piece by pace, creating models with 85 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:36.959 the kind of patience and determination that often escaped him elsewhere. 86 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:40.639 Sometimes he didn't even need a guide. He would build 87 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:44.399 whole new world from his imagination, placing one colored brick 88 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:47.160 on top of the other, like he was creating order 89 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:51.480 in a world that so often felt chaotic. His older 90 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.399 sister lovingly called him timmed him. She remembered how a 91 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:59.240 smile could light up a room, how despite everything he 92 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:03.199 still remained to hand. There was a gentle spirit in Timothy, 93 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:06.519 a softness that made him easy to love. His siblings 94 00:07:06.519 --> 00:07:10.600 said he was vulnerable, yes, but not broken, and he 95 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:14.079 certainly was in a burden. But inside that home on 96 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:18.040 Marshall Road, behind closed doors and beneath the surface of 97 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:29.879 suburban normalcy, something was unraveling. It was just after six 98 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:33.120 point thirty am on Wednesday, the sixth of July twenty 99 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.759 twenty two when a nine one one call came in. 100 00:07:36.639 --> 00:07:39.439 On the other end of the line was Shanda vander Arc. 101 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.839 Her voice was strained and flat. She told the dispatcher 102 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:45.759 that she had just woken up to find her son, 103 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:51.920 fifteen year old Timothy, unresponsive in his bedroom. Emergency responders 104 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:54.639 were dispatched to the family's home on the four seven 105 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:58.600 hundred block of Marshall Road. As officers stepped through the 106 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:03.160 front door, they were immediately struck by the stench. The 107 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:07.240 air was thick and suffocating. The family's home was in 108 00:08:07.240 --> 00:08:11.199 a state of complete disarray. Filthy divers littered the floors, 109 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:14.720 plates crusted with old food sat on top of the counters, 110 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:19.040 and wrappers were piled in the corner. Even more disturbing, 111 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:22.160 faces had been smeared on the door handles and mashed 112 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:27.160 deep into the carpet. Lieutenant Joel Houksma later said it 113 00:08:27.240 --> 00:08:30.759 wasn't just dirty. Some people lived clean, some people live dirty. 114 00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:35.080 This was just gross. The responders made their way into 115 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:39.200 the basement, where Shanda was found kneeling beside Timothy, her 116 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:43.039 hands moving through the motions of CPR, but it was 117 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:46.960 clear that it was too late. His body was limp, cold, 118 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:50.120 and his limbs were beginning to stiffen with rigor mortis. 119 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:54.320 Shanda stepped aside as the paramedics took over, but the 120 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:57.440 heart monitor told them what they already knew. There was 121 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:01.759 no activity fifteen year old Timothy. He was gone. As 122 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:03.960 the team worked, they couldn't help but taking the environment 123 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:06.919 around them. In one section of the basement was a 124 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.480 small windowless room, bare but for a plastic tarp on 125 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.960 the floor that smelled of urine. A webcam had been 126 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:18.840 positioned nearby, its lends aimed directly at the top. Then 127 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:22.720 there were handcuffs, and then there was Timothy himself. He 128 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.480 was emaciated. His clothes hung off him like empty seals, 129 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:31.080 his bones pressed sharply through his skin. His face was 130 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:36.039 gaunt and hollow. Officer Ryan Peaskey recollected thought. 131 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:39.720 That he was extremely unnursed. At least it appeared that way, 132 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:44.080 very skinny. You could see bones protruding from his body, 133 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:46.879 how he could see his ribs through his skin. 134 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:50.360 Bruises marred Timothy's chest, and he was wearing a heavily 135 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:54.120 soiled at diaper. There was no mistaking what they were saying. 136 00:09:55.080 --> 00:09:58.840 Detective Stephanie almardle atter say it was very hard to 137 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:01.200 believe a child of his ai would look like something 138 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:06.120 out of a concentration camp. Timothy's body was transported to 139 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.399 the medical Exometer's office, where the phil extent of his 140 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.320 suffering was laid bare. He weighed just sixty nine pounds. 141 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:19.159 The cause of death was malnourishment and hypothermia, the pathologist recalled. 142 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:24.279 So it was it was readily apparent upon viewing the 143 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:29.320 body of Timothy Ferguson that he had a very low 144 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:36.799 body weight. He appeared extremely emaciated. He was sixty eight 145 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:41.240 inches tall of inches long inches tall, and he weighed 146 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:45.279 sixty nine pounds at that point he had it was 147 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:49.840 clear he had really a loss of all of his 148 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:55.600 body fat. His cheeks were very narrow. He had you 149 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.440 could you could see and count all of his ribs 150 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:03.879 and even entrarely when we're looking at him, he in 151 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.399 areas where you typically have some body fat within your 152 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.240 abdomen and the different areas there was none. There was 153 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.639 only a little bit of connective tissue that would normally 154 00:11:14.679 --> 00:11:19.080 hold the fat, but you could see all of his 155 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:23.240 bony prominences, and on his back he had started getting 156 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:26.320 some pressure soores because there wasn't a lot of padding 157 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.600 in between his bones and his skin as well, so 158 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:32.159 where those areas had pressure, the skin. 159 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:33.159 Was starting to break down. 160 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:37.559 This was not an accident. This was systematic, prolonged torture, 161 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:53.399 and this was only the beginning. Back at the home 162 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.360 on Marshall Road, detectives began to paste together a far 163 00:11:56.440 --> 00:12:00.240 more disturbing portrait of what life had looked like hand 164 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:04.279 those walls. Room by room evidence painted a picture of 165 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:08.679 control and cruelty. In the bathroom, investigators found bottles of 166 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.919 hot sauce, strange on its own, but more disturbing when 167 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.720 they paired with the shackles that lay nearby. There were 168 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.600 locks on both the refrigerator and the freezer, restricting even 169 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:24.080 the most basic human need. Food Cameras were minded throughout 170 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.519 the home, along with motion sensors. They were watching, recording 171 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.720 tracking every movement. One camera was aimed directly into the 172 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:35.879 small closet in the basement. On the door to that 173 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:39.120 closet was an alarm. There was also a bathroom in 174 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:43.480 the basement. Officer Sean Steiphanic recalled. 175 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:46.720 And then who did it track your motion then? 176 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:49.039 Or followed me as I walked through the bathroom? 177 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:52.320 What did you observe about the bathroom itself? 178 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:53.720 Bathroom was very dirty. 179 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:59.720 There was adult dirty, adult diapers on the floor, and 180 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:01.799 there's no shower curtain by no. 181 00:13:01.960 --> 00:13:04.360 Shanda was sitting outside on the steps in a state 182 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:04.879 of panic. 183 00:13:10.320 --> 00:13:13.440 He's been he's been wearing really loose close to lest 184 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:16.039 of police. He's really skinny. 185 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:18.159 He's really skinny, and I didn't notice till this morning 186 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:19.159 because he wouldn't. 187 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:20.679 Like I asked him if he's okay, and he would 188 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:23.159 not answer it, Like he's fifteen, he's been. 189 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:25.960 He has autism. 190 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:27.559 Yeah, I got high functioning. 191 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:33.879 I just had notes about bad. 192 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:38.679 Oh my god, Like I said, he did this. 193 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:44.279 Seconds A strong questisper m. I thought he did this, Bacan, 194 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:46.519 I don't know it second, like in January for almost 195 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:50.200 three weeks and then he finally he ate some. 196 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:55.120 He ate something last night. I can't remember what it was. 197 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:56.720 I'm sorry, I'm. 198 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:03.080 Sure, she told the first response about Timothy's issues, his diagnosises, 199 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:08.039 his behavior, She said that lately stop taking his ADHD medication. 200 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.120 According to her, he had gone on a hunger strike 201 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.440 for nearly three weeks. She said she had threatened to 202 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.600 take him to the hospital if he didn't eat. That 203 00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:19.879 seemed to get through to him, she said, and for 204 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:23.399 a brief time he started eating again, But she said 205 00:14:23.399 --> 00:14:26.240 that in the past two weeks Timothy had stopped once more. 206 00:14:27.159 --> 00:14:31.240 Even when she offered protein shakes he refused. The night 207 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.879 before his death, she told detectives, she warned Timothy again, 208 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:38.720 ate or I'll take you to the hospital. Timothy agreed, 209 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:41.039 she said, and she made him two slices of toast 210 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:44.360 with butter. She claimed he ate about three quarters of 211 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:48.679 one slice, but then refused the rest. That, according to Shanda, 212 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:52.519 was the last real interaction they had at her On 213 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.120 five thirty a m. She said she heard a noise 214 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:59.480 Timothy had fallen out of bed. Done in the basement. 215 00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:02.720 Next time so that urine soaked closet sad a mattle 216 00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:05.360 bunk pand oh I. 217 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:06.960 Said the last time he saw him was five thirty 218 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.799 this morning. Did he see anything he had fallen out 219 00:15:10.799 --> 00:15:11.879 of bed yet? 220 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:12.519 Five thirty? 221 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:17.240 Yeah, you sure it wasn't earlier. 222 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:21.000 I mean it's possible. I thought it was five thirty, but. 223 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.679 I wasn't super awake. I heard a thunk, and I 224 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:26.759 came down and. 225 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:28.720 He's kind of laying on the side, kind of like 226 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:37.759 what the heck? And I picked I agree, Southy, I'm. 227 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:37.440 That's all right. 228 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:42.360 Oh my god, Oh my god. 229 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:48.039 Yeah, And every sound he pulled himself off and I 230 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:48.720 asked him he's. 231 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:50.279 Okay, and I just asked me his head. 232 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:53.519 He said, no, I think I get my my, my 233 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:54.480 knees on my chest. 234 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:56.600 I think he couldn't. 235 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:58.200 Obviously, he couldn't tell me how he fell. 236 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.799 Oh my god, Shonda said, an r lead her. She 237 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.559 checked again, this time Timothee Wallson breathing. 238 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:13.360 But we have to investigate every every death, so I 239 00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:18.080 can't let anybody go in the basement for now. Medical 240 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:20.519 examiner is going to be coming here in a little bit. 241 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:23.200 It's a little cluttered down there, but you're fine. 242 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:24.759 I'm sure you'll see a lot worse. 243 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:32.799 Okay, You're probably gonna get asked the same questions multiple times, 244 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:34.080 so I'm sorry. 245 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:38.440 For that, just like I said, I'm feeling, just miss something. 246 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:41.279 If you want to. 247 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:44.279 Do that. 248 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:50.639 It was a thin story and detectives weren't buying it, 249 00:16:51.480 --> 00:17:05.519 and they had every reason not to. By the time 250 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:08.799 Timothy Ferguson died, his name was already known to child 251 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:13.119 protective services, just not in Michigan. It was in Oklahoma, 252 00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:17.759 years earlier that warning signs first began to surface. The 253 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:22.200 family had been investigated on nine separate occasions. People at 254 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.960 church had noticed that Timothy and his three siblings often 255 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:30.119 wore the same filthy clothing. Some were still in soiled diapers, 256 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.839 well past the age they should have been. Something felt wrong, 257 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.839 and in February of two thousand and eight, authorities opened 258 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:41.799 their first case. At the time, Timothy was just eighteen 259 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:47.680 months old. The allegations were serious medical neglect, inadequate nutrition. 260 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:52.200 One case worker observed that Timothy was underweight and appeared unhealthy. 261 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:55.839 The family was referred to early intervention programs aimed at 262 00:17:55.880 --> 00:18:00.599 helping parents of children with developmental delays or disabilities, but 263 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:04.279 the case was eventually closed. No children were removed, and 264 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.279 the family stayed together, but the reports didn't stop there. 265 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:12.359 One complaint detailed how Shanda and Eric had refused to 266 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:17.079 allow social workers into their home. Another raised concerns about 267 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:21.839 potential sexual abuse taking place in the household. That triggered 268 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:25.559 a deeper investigation. On the twenty fifth of October two 269 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.359 thousand and nine, police and social workers arrived at the home. 270 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:34.240 What they found horrified them. There was faces, animal and 271 00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:39.240 human smeared into the carpets. Trash was strewn throughout the rooms. 272 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:43.480 The air stank of decay. But without a court order, 273 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:47.000 they couldn't legally remove the children that day. They came 274 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:50.359 back the next day with the proper paperwork. This time, 275 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:53.720 the house looked different. The floors had been scrubbed, the 276 00:18:53.759 --> 00:18:58.079 garbage was gone, but the stench still lingered. Despite the 277 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:02.680 sudden transformation, authority weren't filled. The children were removed and 278 00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:06.720 placed into foster care. Timothy and his siblings spent the 279 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:11.559 next two years apart, living in separate homes. Meanwhile, their 280 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:14.839 parents were given an opportunity to work on their problems. 281 00:19:15.920 --> 00:19:19.839 Eric took that chance seriously. He completed parenting classes, He 282 00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:25.920 went through counseling. He cooperated. Shanda didn't. She skipped her classes. 283 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:29.160 She told the social worker she had worked through everything 284 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.799 she was willing to. When it came time for the 285 00:19:31.880 --> 00:19:35.400 judge to decide custody, the choice was clear. Eric was 286 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:39.559 granted full custody of all four children. Shanda was given 287 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:45.000 supervised visitation three hours a month. In January twenty twelve, 288 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:49.400 Oklahoma's Department of Human Services recommended that her parental rights 289 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.000 be terminated, but instead of going through with it, Shanda 290 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:57.759 agreed to give Eric full custody voluntarily. On paper, her 291 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:02.519 rights remained intact in practic this she was gone by then. 292 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:06.400 Shanda had already started over. She'd moved to Michigan. She'd 293 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.559 remarried Adam, She'd had a new baby, she had a 294 00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:13.680 new life. But she left something behind, four children who 295 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:18.200 no longer recognized her as their mother. Her daughter, Millie, 296 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:22.000 would later reflect on that severed bond and stated, I 297 00:20:22.039 --> 00:20:24.000 haven't referred to her as my mother since I was 298 00:20:24.039 --> 00:20:26.960 fourteen or fifteen years old. She hasn't really been a 299 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.000 big part of my life, and I prefer to call 300 00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:32.000 somebody lovingly by the name of mother when they've earned 301 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:36.039 that title. To million her siblings, Shanda wasn't a mother, 302 00:20:36.599 --> 00:20:40.160 She was just a name. She said. She barely had 303 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.720 any part of our lives. I don't think she was 304 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:45.279 a mother for the children. I think she was a 305 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:52.200 mother to call herself a mother. 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Plus they're sugar free 324 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.400 and sweetened with monk fruit, so there's no weird aftertaste. 325 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:53.440 The team at cbda X have crafted these specifically for 326 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:56.960 a storative sleep, not recreation. Each gummy delivers just the 327 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:59.680 right balance to help your body and mind unwined after 328 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.599 those long, stressful days that we all have. If you're 329 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.559 ready to reclaim your nights and wake up refreshed, visit 330 00:22:05.640 --> 00:22:09.119 CBDX dot com and use the code Morbidology for twenty 331 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:11.920 percent off your first order. Trust me, your future well 332 00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:17.880 rested self will thank you. That should have been the 333 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.279 end of it, but in twenty twenty, one of Schandra's 334 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:24.799 children made a decision. Paul, who was now an adult, 335 00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:29.119 chose to move back in with his mother. Timothy, meanwhile 336 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:33.240 was living with his father, Eric and Eric's new wife, Patricia. 337 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:40.039 It wasn't a perfect situation. Timothy had special needs. Patricia tried, 338 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:42.559 but she wasn't trained to care for a child with 339 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:48.240 complex developmental disabilities. It wasn't easy, so she asked Eric 340 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:53.759 to be more present to help shoulder the responsibility. Instead, 341 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:58.480 Eric made a decision that would ultimately cost Timothy his life. 342 00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:01.720 In twenty twenty one, he sent his son to live 343 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:18.759 with Shanda and Paul in Michigan. Almost as soon as 344 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:23.119 Timothy arrived in Michigan, things began to change, not in 345 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:26.119 the way he may have hoped, not with fresh starts 346 00:23:26.200 --> 00:23:31.440 or warm welcomes, but with isolation. Jandon never enrolled Timothy 347 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:35.599 in school. When asked, she said that he was being homeschooled. 348 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.839 But there was no curriculum and there was no education. 349 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:43.559 Timothy was being erased from the outside world, one connection 350 00:23:43.880 --> 00:23:47.480 at a time. He became a source of conflict between 351 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:51.759 Shanda and her husband, Adam, but that tension was interrupted 352 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:56.839 when tragedy struck. Adam suffered a stroke. He could no 353 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:00.839 longer care for himself, let alone the boys, so he 354 00:24:00.920 --> 00:24:05.160 moved out, returning to his parents home to recover. That 355 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:08.640 left Shanda alone in the home, responsible for three children, 356 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:13.119 all while working full time as a law clerk. The 357 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:17.759 pressure inside that home began to boil over. But the anger, 358 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:22.440 the stress, the cruelty, it didn't fall equally on every one. 359 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:27.680 Timothy became the target. He was punished for existing, for 360 00:24:27.799 --> 00:24:32.920 needing too much, for being different, and the abuse wasn't 361 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:38.359 just coming from Shanda, Timothy's older brother Paul, became her enforcer. 362 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:43.240 While Shanda was at work, Paul was left to watch Timothy. 363 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:49.720 What followed was nothing short of torture. Thousands of text 364 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:53.559 messages between Shanda and Paul would later reveal the daily 365 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:57.720 horrors that Timothy endured. They traded him like a prisoner 366 00:24:57.759 --> 00:25:02.680 in his own home. He was stomatically starved. One day, 367 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:05.200 Timothy was caught trying to steal a slice of cheese 368 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:08.839 from the refrigerator. His punishment was to sit in a 369 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:12.920 bath tub filled with ice water. On another day, he 370 00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:16.880 was seen eating the crust from a leftover burger. Shanda 371 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:20.960 made him vomit it up. Water was even forbidden, and 372 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:24.880 if he was given food, it was cruelly twisted into punishment. 373 00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:28.279 He was only allowed to eat bread that had been 374 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:32.680 soaked in hot sauce. Sometimes they'd force his mouth open 375 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:37.039 and pour the hot sauce down his throat. Shanda and 376 00:25:37.079 --> 00:25:41.079 Paul restrained him with zip ties and shackles. He wasn't 377 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.920 even allowed to sleep in a bed. He wasn't even 378 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:47.599 allowed to sleep in a real room. Instead, Timothy was 379 00:25:47.599 --> 00:25:51.279 forced to sleep on a urine soaked torp inside a dark, 380 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:55.680 windowless closet in the basement. That's where he spent his nights. 381 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:59.240 In most of his days, he was hidden from visitors, 382 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:03.160 even his great parents. When he wasn't locked in the closet, 383 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:05.319 he was forced to clean the house without pants on. 384 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:10.559 Paul was the muscl Shanda was the mind behind the madness. 385 00:26:11.240 --> 00:26:14.119 She texted Paul from work, instructing him on how to 386 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:18.160 hurt her son. I'm ready to kill Timothy, Paul wrote 387 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:22.759 in one message. In another, Shanda wrote, please make sure 388 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:25.920 you go downstairs regularly to make sure Timothy isn't asleep 389 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:29.880 before you leave for work. In another, she wrote, maybe 390 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:32.400 we should leave the light on that way, it'll be 391 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:36.599 harder for him to fall asleep. Then she added, I 392 00:26:36.680 --> 00:26:39.039 honestly don't care if you get a little rough with him. 393 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:44.440 Paul responded like a willing accomplice. In one message, she wrote, 394 00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:47.680 I ended up dragging him back to a small room 395 00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:49.880 because I wasn't going to risk him having access to 396 00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:52.960 the towb or other things overnight. He's still trying to 397 00:26:53.000 --> 00:26:55.839 be stupid, but I'll tell you more tomorrow when I 398 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:58.799 take you to work, describing how many different ways I 399 00:26:58.839 --> 00:27:03.440 can prove he is fake. They convinced themselves, or at 400 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:07.960 least try to, that Timothy was faking his disabilities, that 401 00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:11.920