Parents charged with murder after starved toddler died from eating diapers, drywall

An Indiana couple was arrested after their malnourished toddler died in deplorable living conditions; Investigators alleged the child ate pieces of a diaper and drywall before he died, and that the parents waited nearly 14 hours to call 911 after they last saw him alive, according to police and court records.

Trevor Reichard-Hayes, 39, and Katherine Carter, 31, face murder and negligence charges in connection with the death of 2-year-old Erik Reichard, the Tell City Police Department said in a press release.

Officers found the boy dead around 1:20 p.m. on March 31 after Reichard-Hayes called 911 to report that his wife had found their son not breathing. The couple reportedly told the police that they last saw their son alive around 23:00 the previous day.

Police and medical teams arrived at the scene a short time later and performed cardiac massage on the 2-year-old child, but it was determined that the child died at the scene.

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“Based on my training and experience, I can say that the child had been dead for several hours. The child was blue and pale,” a detective wrote in a probable cause affidavit against the parents, according to PEOPLE.

The detective added that the child was “extremely weak” and covered in dozens of sores or insect bites. Erik also weighed only 15 pounds; this was about half the weight of a child his age.

The affidavit states Carter told police he ate Erik’s diapers, and the detective “suspected the child ate his diapers due to hunger.”

Investigators found the home, which contained two other children, to be in terrible condition. Other children were removed from the home, including one who was hospitalized with severe malnutrition and dehydration.

The couple waited more than 14 hours to report that their child was unresponsive. (Tell the Provincial Police Department)

The detective said he observed “poor living conditions in two children’s rooms, including feces on the floor, as well as copious amounts of drywall and paint chips, dirt and diaper bits.” [lying] everywhere as well as bugs/insects in the house.”

Officers found a small child’s bed in one of the bedrooms, diaper scraps and drywall debris on the floor, and a training toilet filled with feces and urine, according to the affidavit.

However, although the children’s bedrooms were deplorable, the parents lived in a clean and well-kept bedroom.

The couple’s bedroom “had nice bedding, the bed was made, there was no excessive clutter, and it was clean, unlike the rest of the house,” the affidavit said.

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A detective said the boy was “extremely weak” and covered in dozens of sores or insect bites. (Tell the Provincial Police Department)

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An autopsy showed that the child’s colon contained “foreign material and small white particles containing a gel-like substance.” These findings were consistent with gel found in the diapers the child was wearing. [Erik] as well as the material of the diaper. Some of the white material removed from the column was also consistent with drywall, paint chips or plaster, according to PEOPLE.

According to the statement, the cause of Erik’s death was determined to be extreme malnutrition and excessive dehydration due to neglect.