Investigators say parents "regularly" chained autistic son in filthy room

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to read the full article)


AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Investigators discovered a 28-year-old autistic man lived – and died – in horrible conditions.

Investigators with the Richmond County Sheriffs Office found Antoin Hawes Jr. dead in his home off Kissingbower Rd. around 11:50 Sunday morning.

Further investigation revealed Antoin Hawes Jr. was "regularly" locked and chained by his ankle in a room with "no working electricity", "no lighting available" and a five-gallon bucket filled with urine and feces next to the door, according to arrest warrants and the sheriffs report.

Investigators with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office say the autistic man was sleeping on a "makeshift mattress" made of "pillows wrapped in a garbage bag."

Neighbors who have lived across the street from the Hawes family say they are heartbroken.

“They were quiet. Occasionally you would see the young people going up and down the street, walking to the laundry mat or somewhere,” said neighbor Deborah Arrington.

His father, Antoin Hawes, Sr., told investigators they locked their son in the room at night and when he was ”too much to handle," but haven't been doing it lately.

“It’s a shame to know that’s what goes on and the neighbors and other people didn’t know about it," said Arrington.

Two other adult children, an 18-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man , were living in the home off Kissingbower Rd too.

Hawes father told investigators he and his younger son woke up around 9 or 10 in the morning, noticing Hawes Jr. was "not moving."

Hawes Sr. told investigators they moved Hawes Jr. into the living from his bedroom because they intended to take him to the hospital, but instead went to sleep.

Hawes Sr. says they woke up around 11:50 in the morning, called 9-1-1 and requested EMS.

The Coroners office pronounced Hawes Jr. dead around noon Sunday.

Investigators say they discovered what appeared to be blood covering the outside of the door as well as the door handle that locks from the outside.

Code Enforcement officers came to the home Monday afternoon.

Code Enforcement inspectors tell us the coroner called Code Enforcement asking them to investigate possible code violations inside, but could not go into the home lawfully until they got in contact with the landlord.


Source: Investigators say parents "regularly" chained autistic son in filthy room

 

[Smiley]

When my oldest son was little, he didn't sleep well and he tended to wander outside. He would move furniture to unlock the chain from the door, and go on outside whenever he wanted. It was quite stressful for me, as the only caregiver. I was never able to sleep. I asked his pediatrician what she recommended to help him sleep better at night. She said lock him in his room. She said if he can open a lock, to put him in a cage!

The doctor, a medical professional presumably knowledgeable about children and child care, told me to cage a four year old in his room alone all night.

I was horrified and offended by the suggestion. I immediately changed to a different pediatrician and we got an alarm system for the house to wake me if he went out, but not all parents will disobey a doctor. Many people are taught from a young age to unquestioningly obey persons in positions of authority such as doctors, teachers, and police officers.

Also, some parents are just psychopaths, but not most.

 

[Mary Anne]

So glad I decided never to have children when I was little. I have never regretted it.

 

[Riley]

...Why are you guys talking like the victim was a child?

 

[Mary Anne]

...Why are you guys talking like the victim was a child?

What does it matter? I am sure the parents. (and siblings) encountered extreme challenges in dealing with their son from when the victim was a very young child. This might explain their long on-going horrible treatment. Does it matter of what age a person is as a victim of abuse and torture? The parents most likely started abusing their son early on. Maybe they did not know any better, maybe they were told by someone else. Maybe they are abused themselves (as my own parents were- they just did to us as they were taught).

 

[Smiley]

...Why are you guys talking like the victim was a child?

That wasn't my intention. I used the example of my son (when he was a child) as an explanation of why or how an otherwise stable and sane caregiver might think it's somehow acceptable to chain up a person: they might have been taught wrong.

 

[Riley]

Thanks for the explanations, @Mary Anne and @Smiley . I was sitting at my desk going: "These people kept a ADULT in their house!" and was surprised no one else shared the horrified feeling.

 

[tducey]

Sad to hear stories about this. No need for anything like this at all.