A couple accused of starving their 10-year-old son over the course of three years will have to return to court next month to learn if they will be granted bond.
Tyler and Krista Schindley were arrested on charges of attempted murder and child cruelty after their emaciated son was found wandering their Griffin neighborhood May 12. The boy weighed just 36 pounds, about half the weight of a typical 10-year-old, and told the neighbors who found him that he was hungry and asked not to be sent back home, Spalding County District Attorney Marie Broder has said.
The couple appeared before Spalding County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Coker on Tuesday morning but had no legal representation. Due to the nature of the charges, Coker rescheduled the hearing for June in order to give the Schindleys time to retain a lawyer or be appointed a public defender. They are next scheduled to appear in court June 26.
According to their warrants, the alleged abuse took place between May 2020 and the couple’s arrests earlier this month. Authorities said a lengthy investigation is expected, and it’s likely that few details will be made public due to the allegations involving a minor victim.
The couple’s four other children who also lived in the home have been placed in the custody of the state’s Division of Family and Children Services, and the 10-year-old is recovering at a hospital. It did not appear that food was withheld from the other children, and officials have not determined why the 10-year-old was the only one starving.
Neighbors have expressed feelings of guilt over not noticing the alleged abuse, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. The children were homeschooled, making it difficult for outsiders to pick up on signs of concern, and DFCS has not confirmed if a case involving the family had ever been opened.
Even the owners of a spa franchise that the Schindleys operated said they were shocked to learn of the allegations.
In a video statement posted to Facebook, the owners of True Rest Float Spa, a chain that offers sensory deprivation therapy, said they’ve severed all ties with the Schindleys and suspended operations at the two spas run by the couple in Peachtree City and McDonough until May 30.
“This comes as a shocking reminder to us that things aren’t always what they seem,” the owners said.
It isn’t the first case of child starvation to play out in metro Atlanta. In 2020, a 5-year-old Hall County girl died of malnourishment and dehydration due to medical neglect. She weighed just under 8 pounds at the time of her death, and her parents — Porscha and Jerrail Mickens — were charged with second-degree murder and multiple counts of child cruelty.
Their daughter was born with a chromosomal deficiency that made it difficult for her to eat and drink, the couple’s attorney said in their defense. But Hall District Attorney Lee Darragh previously told the AJC it was one of the most egregious cases of child neglect he’d ever seen.
Jerrail Mickens died in a motorcycle crash while the case was still open, but Porscha Mickens pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2022. She was sentenced to 20 years on probation.
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