Overview
- Prosecutors released photos of baby-gate enclosures and said a 14-year-old was forced to sleep in one for up to 18 months and sometimes remained confined for weeks.
- When the siblings were removed in 2018, the girl weighed 40 pounds and the boy 50 pounds, and medical experts described severe malnutrition and failure to thrive.
- Investigators said there was sufficient evidence to charge Susan Helton; no charges were filed against her mother, Ellen, who lived in the home and at times watched the children.
- Case documents show the children were legally adopted, so routine foster caseworker check-ins had ended, and no medical visit records were found despite claims they saw a doctor.
- CASA of Central Texas worked with all eight children after removal and emphasized that every Texan is a mandatory reporter of suspected child abuse.