Boy: Mom Kept Me in Closet for 4 1/2 Years

Mother and Her Friend Arrested for Allegedly Locking Up Son Who Escaped Bedroom Prison at Age of 14

(AP)  A woman was arrested after her 14-year-son told authorities he escaped from a home where he'd been kept for 4 1/2 years, spending most of his time locked in a bedroom closet, police said Monday.

A security guard at a National Guard facility in Oklahoma City called police on Friday after the teen showed up malnourished and with numerous scars and other signs of abuse, police Sgt. Gary Knight said.

"He was hungry. He was dirty. He had numerous scars on his body," Knight said. "It was very sad."

The boy was taken to a hospital to be examined and then turned over to the custody of the Department of Human Services, Knight said.

After police interviews, officers on Saturday arrested the boy's mother, 37-year-old LaRhonda Marie McCall, and a friend, 38-year-old Steve Vern Hamilton, on 20 complaints each of child abuse and child neglect. Formal charges have not been filed, and both were being held on $400,000 bond, according to jail records.

Jail officials were not sure wheter either had retained an attorney, and no one answered the phone at McCall's home. A police report listed McCall as a pharmaceutical company employee and Hamilton as a cab driver.

The teen, wearing only a pair of oversized shorts held up by a belt, walked up to a security guard at the Guard facility around 5 p.m. Friday and asked where a police station was located so he could report being abused, according to a police report.

He told police that scars on his stomach and torso were from where alcohol had been poured on him and set on fire. Other scars were from being tied up, hit with an extension cord and choked, the boy told police.

"He had scars covering most of his body," Knight said. "They were basically from head to foot."

The teen told police he moved to the Oklahoma City area from New Jersey about 4 1/2 years ago after his mother was released from jail. Since arriving in Oklahoma, he said, he had never been to school and spent most of his time locked in a bedroom closet.

He told police the closet door was mostly blocked with a stepladder or a bed and that he managed to push the door open enough to escape and leave the house.

Knight said six other children living at the home were taken into DHS custody, but none showed signs of abuse. McCall had lived at several different addresses in the Oklahoma City area, he said.

A DHS spokeswoman said she could not discuss specific cases but generally an investigation would be conducted before any of the children are returned to the home or placed with other family members.

"There may be family members, but we do a diligent search, and we're very careful about placing kids in a safe environment," DHS spokeswoman Beth Scott said.

[Demi_destructor]

So wow. . . is there any justice in this world? How is that women allowed to have kids is my question. If there was justice they would lock her in a closet for 4.5 years. But I guess life in prison would suffice.

[csidedreamer]

what kind of mental illness is that ? where you feed all the kids but one? or just single one child out & become evil ? seriously that is so disturbing- I could not have made up such a horror story!

[rmm26a]

Damn Laquisha! Don't u kno u shudnt lock yo kidz in da clozit!

[crapper007]

"Knight said six other children living at the home ...

even worse is that there were other kids and most likely a boyfriend living in this house and no one said anything.

[incog-nito]

This really gives new meaning to the term "being grounded".

[legacyabq]

God what an evil-looking scum.

What a picture.

[ronniedartez]

Okay, here I go coming off like Rush Limbaugh, and I mean that as insulting as it sounds. I respect the man, just don't like him. We are America - we about to tell people you may not text while driving. Okay. Now let's look at child bearing. I live in the downtown area of Los Angeles and every week I see several instances of where a woman should not have been allowed to bear children. Ride the buses and rail system here and you'll know what I'm referring to. You have so many young children 8, 9, 10, 12 years using language in front of their parent that would make a truck driver blush. And in reprimanding them, on the rare occasion that occurs the parent will use the same language. LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT THESE WOMAN THAT HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT PARENTING. Why not mandate pre-delivery parenting classes. Okay, I'm about to rant, so adios amigos.

[observer2020]

Why did they single-out this one child when they had six more to abuse? They do need lots of jail time to think about their actions. Then, "fix" the both of them so they stop breeding! There are lots of loving non-parents that would give anything to have one child and these slimes had 7?

[sam-kiley]

bonjour
pauvre garçon quelle tristesse qu'une maman inflige un
tel traitememnt a son enfant; sure qu'elle est folle la dame..
j'espére que le petit sera pris en charge..au revoir

[sundayweiss]

Amen, to the idea CBS would scholarship or fund raise for this boy, he will need lots of therapy and counseling and tutors to get caught up socialy and emotionaly and academicaly in school. I wish if storys like this are very public, this public display of terror and abuse, would somehow support the unfortunate used and abused.

[sundayweiss]

I don't think anyone who would take another huyman being and pour alcohol on their belly and set it on fire qualifys as a human being.

[guntznroses]

Deviants like this should be immediately sterilized and put into lifelong servitude to their victims and their families. No leniency or mercy should be given.

[Samuel-HiLL]

This young man is not only physically scarred, but he will carry the mental scars for life. The good thing is that it happened now, when people are actually held accountable.

I was beaten regularly in the 1970s by my father, once so badly I was sent home from school because my face was so busted up. I had my jaw broken, cheekbone fractured, teeth knocked loose, blacked eyes and smashed lips. I was no angel but once it was just for being 15 minutes late because I didn't want to walk home in the pouring rain. Several times the police showed up, and they actually threatened to lock me up!

My dad was never held accountable, and I lived that nightmare until I stood up to him when I was 17 and knocked him on his arse. I vowed then that I would NEVER do anything like that to my kids, and I never did.

My kids thought I was a strict disciplinarian. If they only knew...

I really feel for this kid, because this experience could ruin him for life. I hope he gets counseling, and I hope they throw his mom and boyfriend under the jail.

[yoyoinla]

Curmudgeon, you certainly said a "mouthful" there...when you said "This has absolutely nothing to do with this topic."

On topic....I believe in the punishment fitting the crime. They need to be put in isolation for 23-hours a day, and let out only to be put in a cell with a large, tough lifer who doesn't like people who mistreat children (and doesn't mind letting them know it)..give the guy a big leather belt..and let him go to work."

[massey24]

We need a support fund set up for this kid. CBS !! TELL US WHERE WE CAN SEND HIM SOME $$

[Kaliu3W]

stuart-johns: "I believe that children should be given the room to grow and develop in a normal environment..."

I agree with your statement, however, how many children get to know what a 'normal environment' is? Many families operate in varying degrees of dysfunction. It is unfortunate, but a fact.

[Kaliu3W]

I can't understand what would convince any parent to treat their child in such a way. What in the world goes on their heads that makes them believe that this is okay? What kind and to what level of narcissism is at work here...what sort of mental capacity is present, (and mental illness). I know these things happen now and then, but to me, it is always a shock and saddens me greatly. That poor kid will be messed up for the rest of his life, and possibly go on to pass the abuse he suffered to others...or be so emotionally damaged that being productive and happy will always elude him. This is a tragic story of immense proportions.

[dnamj]

Clearly parenting needs to be a SLIGHTLY more regulated activity. How is it possible that this kid dropped off the face of the earth and nobody knew? It's illegal to even keep a kid out of school. Aren't their truant officers in Oklahoma? Now I'm not some kind of authoritarian, but how else are we going to stop this kind of thing from happening? Finally, I wish people would quit having kids when they can't deal with them. Or never have them in the first place. It's about the worst crime I can imagine.

[legacyabq]

I agree but theres not much that can be done, except hope that neanderthals like this "person" evolve or die or something.

There is evil and sometimes theres nothing you can do before-the-fact.

What gets me is you have CPS harrassing innocent people but they never seem to be able to stop these types of people. How did no one know?

Oh well. Sucky sucky world.

[koyt2]

This is one of the more disgusting things that I have ever heard about. Who are these animals? I hope they are tortured by the inmates during their time in then can.

[docpeter1953]

Really, you folks need to get a handle on all of this.

Mom was only prepping the boy for his future as an inmate with the OK prison system.

Her big mistake was not feeding him and keeping him fat enough so he couldn't escape. Now that he was successful once he has learned and will be emboldened to continue to make future escape attempts. Helll the authorities won't be able to keep this guy in prison now.



Yes I am being mean spirited and NO I don't really mean any of this. It is sickening what mom and her BF did.

[docpeter1953]

This story also reminds me of what J. C. Fields said, "When a child is born you should dig a hole, when the child becomes an adolescent you should throw him in it, when they become a teenager you should fill in the hole."