Jaime Day Kept 9-Year-Old Stepson on a Leash, Covered in Human Feces, Cops Allege

LAKE CHARLES, La. (CBS/AP) Police have charged a Louisiana woman with 25 counts of cruelty to a juvenile after deputies found her 9-year-old stepson malnourished, covered in excrement, and kept on a leash in a room.

On Feb. 19, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office received a tip claiming Jaime Day was forcing her stepson to stay in his bedroom and was extremely thin, according to officials.

Deputy Jason Schnake found the boy tied to a door knob with a dog leash, agency spokeswoman Kim Myers said.

He weighed about 38 pounds and was lying on a foam pallet atop a box spring mattress covered in blood and human feces, she said. He was reportedly wearing a T-shirt, shorts and a diaper.

The 27-year-old stepmother was also charged with two counts of second-degree cruelty.

Her husband, Murry Dalton Day, 30, was charged with five counts of cruelty and one count of second-degree cruelty. A warrant for his arrest was issued, and he turned himself in Tuesday.

The child had bruises on his body and face and a second-degree burn mark on his back, Myers said. He was reportedly in the hospital for 13 days, suffering from hypothermia due to malnutrition.

There were two other children in the home, 4- and 6-year-old boys, Myers said. Doctors examined all three children and determined that the other boys hadn't been abused.

All three were removed from the home.

Myers said that six years ago, the parental rights of the boy's biological mother were terminated by the state Office of Community Services because of physical abuse. Murry Day was given custody of the boy at the time.

Myers said more arrests are possible.

Judge David Ritchie set Jaime Day's bond at $5.5 million. Her husband's bond was set at $2 million.