How Could You? Hall of Shame-Steve and Joetta Sells UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Anderson, Indiana, on December 1, 2014, guardians Steve and Joetta Sells “are accused of keeping [their 15-year-old mentally disabled granddaughter] with little more than a mattress, a space heater, a bucket and a bowl of oatmeal, according to records from the Anderson Police Department. Investigators described a room covered in feces, with blood on the floor.”

“The 15-year-old girl hospitalized earlier this week for severe malnutrition remains in critical condition, an Anderson police spokesman said.

The teenager weighed less than 40 pounds Monday when she was transported to a hospital for treatment.

“She was a skeleton,” Anderson Police Detective Joel Sandefur said. “I don’t think people understand. She was starved.”

Family members told police that Steve Sells, 58, kept his granddaughter locked in the room all day and night. One person said he also picked the girl up by her hair and dragged her.

Steve Sells and Joetta Sells, 54, were arrested earlier this week but have not been formally charged.

They have had custody of the teen since 2009, Madison Circuit Court records show. They also were legal guardians of a 4-year-old, who was removed from the home Monday by the Indiana Department of Child Services.

Terry Thompson, superintendent of the Anderson Community School Corp., said the Sellses withdrew the teenager from public school “after Oct. 12, 2010” to be home-schooled.

Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said the girl had not attended school for several years.

He said DCS officials filed a Child In Need of Services petition against the Sellses in 2010 but asked the judge to dismiss it a month later “due to the investigation being closed and finding no evidence,” court records state.

“We did have previous involvement,” DCS spokesman James Wide said.

He said he could not provide details on that involvement because of laws regarding confidentiality. He said there was not an open case at the time police learned of the girl’s condition, but the agency is now investigating.

Steve Sells initially claimed his granddaughter had fallen, as an explanation for her condition. He later told police he locked the girl in her room to protect himself. Sells, who weighs at least 200 pounds, said his granddaughter was “very strong.” He said he had to squeeze her arm when she approached him with a knife.

Sandefur, the police spokesman, said the girl’s condition is “day-to-day.” She remains in an Indianapolis hospital. The teen is so malnourished that she cannot walk, Sandefur said.”

Police: ‘I don’t think people understand. She was starved.’ [The Indianapolis Star 12/4/14 by Marisa Kwiatkowski]

“A third relative has now been charged in the case of a 15-year-old mentally disabled girl who was found last month in Indiana weighing just 35lbs after enduring years of neglect and abuse.

Crystal Sells, 21, was arrested Thursday night on seven counts of battery, confinement and aiding/inducing or causing the neglect of a dependent causing serious bodily injury.

Investigators say Sells played a major role in the abuse targeting her special-needs niece.

The arrest comes a month after Sells’ father, 58-year-old Steve Sells, and his wife, 54-year-old Joetta Sells, were charged with neglect for allegedly starving the man’s 15-year-old granddaughter and keeping her locked away in a filthy room for four years.

Court documents indicate that the teenager was brutally beaten by her caretakers, lodged on a blood- and -feces-stained mattress and forced to eat human waste and go to the bathroom in a bucket.

According to probable cause affidavits, Crystal Sells was seen on one occasion striking her mentally disabled relative in the head with a plastic chair, WISH-TV reported.

When questioned by police, Miss Sells admitted to the abuse and said that even after she had realized that what was being done to the girl was wrong, she did nothing to stop it.

‘There were clearly times over the course of the four years where she was involved in the batteries, she was involved in the criminal confinement and she clearly could have gotten help for this young girl if she chose to and did not,’ said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings.

Court documents show that Joetta and Crystal Sells waited three hours to call an ambulance after the girl was found unresponsive December 1, giving them enough time to come up with a plausible story in order to avoid prison time, according to a relative.

That same relative said the women seemed more distraught by the prospect of going to jail than the girl’s appalling condition.

Steve Sells, the girl’s legal guardian since 2009, was initially charged with 12 counts of neglect and battery. On Tuesday, he was hit with additional charges of theft, perjury and welfare fraud for allegedly misusing his granddaughter’s Social Security benefits totaling $55,000, according to WTHR.

His wife faces 11 felonies counts of neglect of a dependent, criminal confinement and battery resulting in bodily injury. The couple are being held on $100,000 bonds.

Mr Sells was awarded custody of the girl after claiming that his daughter, Jannifer Sells, had abandoned her

Speaking to Fox 59 earlier this week, Miss Sells said she was shocked to discover that her father allegedly had been abusing his own granddaughter.

According to the woman and her fiance, the 15-year-old has been in the hospital for more than a month now recovering from her injuries.

Last month, doctors at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital recommended taking the teenager off life support, so grave was her condition, but around New Year’s Eve she girl rallied.

The 15-year-old is now said to be awake and capable of getting out of bed.

Jannifer Sells and her husband-to-be Anthony Gaw said they want the girl to come live with them once she regains her health.

The Sells family allegedly kept the teenager locked in a room with only a mattress, space heater, blankets, a bowl with oatmeal and a bucket, according to the documents first shared by Fox59 last month.

Authorities noted that the door had a lock at the top, out of reach of the teenager, and another child at the home said Sells would lock the door ‘during the day and nights’.

The child told authorities that they would sometimes see the girl’s fingers reaching around the door, in an apparent attempt to get out, the documents said.

Everything inside the room was covered with feces and blood, authorities said.

The gruesome conditions were unearthed after concerned relatives took the girl to hospital December 1 and doctors contacted authorities. They then executed a search warrant at the home.

When the girl was taken to St. Vincent Hospital in Anderson, she was covered in feces and weighed just 35lb. She was then flown to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis in critical condition.

When police arrived, they said the girl was so thin that bones were protruding from her skin.

‘If you see pictures of the victim, it’s very disturbing,’ Sgt. Joel Sandefur said told the Indy Channel. ‘We wouldn’t accept treatment of an animal that way, let alone a human being, a 15-year-old girl.’

The teenager and a four-year-old child moved in with the couple when their mother abandoned them four years ago, according to the court documents.

The older girl, whose grandfather said suffers from a chromosome problem in her brain, was kept locked up inside the room by Steve Sells, according to his wife of six years.

She had not been to the doctors or to school in two years, the Indy Channel reported.

He told authorities he locked her in the room to protect himself, claiming that the 35lb girl was strong and had previously approached him with a knife.

The Department of Child Services asked for a court hearing regarding custody of the girl in 2011, Fox59 reported.

‘I think they were asking for court intervention for them to be permitted to take the child out of that environment or to get services and the court did not permit that to happen at that time,’ said Prosecutor Cummings – but the child ultimately stayed at the home.

Neighbor Thomas McAllister told said that Sells and his wife lived at the home with their three children. He said that Sells had always given the impression he was a caring father.

‘That is mind boggling,’ he added. ‘That is just disgusting and no child should have to go through anything like that.’ “

Third family member charged with horrific abuse and neglect of mentally disabled teen girl found locked up in a feces-covered room[Daily Mail 1/9/15 by Lydia Warren and  SNEJANA FARBEROV]

“Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings is hesitant to point fingers.

But you can tell the case involving a malnourished 16-year old girl described by nurses as “skin and bones,” has irked him.

It’s not just the egregious allegations that bother him – that the teenage girl weighed roughly 50 pounds, nearly died and had been locked in her room for nearly four years before authorities stepped in December.

It’s that newly released state records show the Indiana Department of Child Services knew there were concerns about the girl’s health as far back as 2010.

That year, allegations were brought to DCS that the child was “skeletal.” That led to a Child in Need of Services (or CHINS) report in juvenile court. The case was dismissed after a follow-up visit from a case worker, who reported the child seemed fine and the family’s Anderson home was in good order.

That’s despite the fact that a month earlier – in September of 2010 – a doctor told another case worker the child was malnourished.

The case worker’s own records show: “no removal is appropriate at this time.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve had this sort of catastrophic failure,” Cummings told I-Team 8. “It appears to me that there is a failure because we did not protect this child. And it’s not the first time it’s happened to children in our community.”

Cummings says he is frustrated by what he considers a problematic pattern of children slipping through the cracks.

“Rather than point fingers I would rather we have a dialogue about how do we prevent this from happening to the next child. And I don’t see that happening. That’s what concerns me most,” Cummings said. “It’s clear that we are not protecting our children to keep them from these types of horrible situations.”

In this case, the girl’s grandparents, Steve and Joetta Sells (and more recently their daughter Crystal), face a host of charges including battery and neglect of the teen.

James Wide, a spokesman for DCS, said he is open to that dialogue but added that it is often up to juvenile judges to determine if a CHINS case should move forward.

When pressed about whether DCS case workers failed to act in the Sells’ case, he said: “No we didn’t. We got involved.”

Wide encouraged community members to contact DCS if they witness child neglect, and said this case would be reviewed.

“Absolutely, we will review this case and see where we can improve,” Wide said.

A RECORD OF CONCERN

The girl, now 16, was rushed to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in December. Newly released Department of Child Services documents detail at least two prior investigations into the alleged malnourishment and treatment of an Anderson teenager.

Social workers investigated complaints that an Anderson girl might have been malnourished as far back as 2010 and first looked into her family in 2004.

But those cases were dismissed before the girl’s grandparents were arrested in December 2014, when the 15-year old girl collapsed in their Anderson home, nearly died and weighed less than 40 pounds, according to newly released documents obtained by I-Team 8.

The records, more than 200 pages in length, show that the Department of Child Services had investigated and dismissed complaints that the child, who was diagnosed with a mental disorder and was “skeletal and malnourished” in 2010.

In 2011, an allegation was made that the girl was being locked in her room and prevented from using the bathroom. There were other allegations about her living conditions: the feces in her bedroom, and others too graphic to print.

It wasn’t until December 2014, when the girl collapsed in the Anderson, Indiana home of her grandparents, Steve and Joetta Sells, that the teen was taken to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in grave condition. The documents obtained by I-Team 8 show she coded three times on the way to the hospital, was covered in feces, required several baths and had fleas.

Doctors determined she had pneumonia, cardiomyopathy and was severely malnourished.

She was placed and later removed from a ventilator and given a feeding tube. Her current condition is unknown.

The records show the teen was put on a “no publish list” by the hospital after two men and pastor came by the pediatric floor looking to visit the child in early December. The social worker at the hospital thought they might have been with the media.

FIRST VISITS

DCS records obtained by I-Team 8 Thursday following a lengthy public records request show the agency first opened a case at the home in June of 2004. Details surrounding that case were not provided, but records note it was closed in 2009 without further explanation.

The records show DCS was first called to the home regarding the girl in September 2010 after an anonymous tip that the girl was “very malnourished, has lost a lot of weight and had a good sized bruise on her cheek.” The tip also described the girl as “skeletal.”

The report recommended further investigation.

Follow up visits were conducted at the home on Oct. 18, 22 and 26.

At the first visit, the DCS family case manager reported that Joetta Sells told her the girl was “upset about her coming and was trying to eat everyone’s food and not let anyone else eat because she was afraid she was going to be removed.”

The DCS case worker noted at the last visit to the home that month that her “was clean and appropriate,” and that the girl “appeared to be in very good spirits and hugged (me) goodbye.”

That month, records show St. John’s Hospital Clinical Dietician Amy Mercer wrote, in handwritten notes on the case, that she had “looked clinically and didn’t see any signs of malnutrition, except brittle hair, sunken eyes and dry skin.” The girl weighed 69 pounds at the time, and her lab levels were normal, Mercer also noted.

The case was also turned over that month to the court system as a “child in need of services”—or CHINS—case, where the Sells said the girl was not malnourished, ate four meals per day, and at times would “gorge herself on food.”

At the end of the 2010 collection of reports, DCS notes that “no removal is appropriate at this time.” The agency moved to dismiss its CHINS request on Nov. 8, 2010.

NEW ALLEGATIONS

In October 2011, records obtained by I-Team 8 show DCS was called back to the Sells’ home, this time on a report that the girl was “being locked in her room for days without food or the ability to use the bathroom.” The tip also notes that there is “domestic violence in the home in the presence of children.”

AWAITING TRIAL

Steve and Joetta Sells face several neglect charges as a result of this case.

DCS records show that Steve Sells denied any wrongdoing and said that the child refused to eat.

The Sells have previously declined repeated requests to speak to reporters.

In January, Steve Sells was hit with additional charges for welfare fraud for applying for medical benefits that were supposed to be used for the girl’s care, prosecutor’s alleged. That same month, Steve’s daughter, Crystal, was charged with battery in relation to the case.

Prosecutors called her an “active participant” in the alleged abuse and neglect of the girl.

Jail personnel told I-Team 8 Crystal has bonded out of jail.

Steve and Joetta Sells remain in jail awaiting trial. No one answered the door at their home.”

Prosecutor: ‘We failed to protect’ Anderson teen who weighed 50 pounds [WTHIV 2/28/15 by Bennett Haeberle]

“Joetta S. Sells, 54, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 10 of 12 charges against her for the neglect, confinement and battery of her now 16-year-old step-granddaughter over whom she was guardian.

The Anderson resident pleaded guilty in Madison Circuit Court 6 to six counts of neglect of a dependent, three counts of criminal confinement and one count of battery resulting in bodily injury. Each is a Level 3 offense carrying a possible sentence of three to 16 years.

Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said he was not prepared to comment on whether he plans to pursue the remaining two charges, but the jury trial scheduled for Sept. 29 has been canceled. The remaining charges include neglect of a dependent, dependent put in a situation endangering his or her life or health, and battery by bodily waste, placing blood, semen, urine or fecal matter on another.

“I think it’s good for the little girl who doesn’t have to come to court and testify,” he said. “There’s enough accountability that the judge can impose a sentence that will cover the severity of the behavior involved.”

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 12.

The girl was discovered unresponsive Dec. 1 when emergency medical personnel were called to the home, where Joetta Sells’ husband, Steve Sells, told them the scene would look like a case for Child Protective Services. Official reports said the girl was discovered malnourished, covered in feces and suffering from visible signs of abuse.

Steve Sells pleaded guilty Sept. 7 to 12 felony charges in the case. He is scheduled for sentencing at 9 a.m. Oct. 5.

In addition, he pleaded guilty to five felony counts of welfare fraud, theft and perjury.

Though Steve Sells pleaded guilty under a plea agreement, Joetta Sells did not have one, her lawyer, Thomas G. Godfrey, said. Deputy Prosecutor Stephanie Wade previously stated no plea agreement would be forthcoming for Joetta Sells or her daughter, Crystal M. Sells, who also has been charged in the matter.

A jury trial for Crystal Sells is scheduled for 1:31 p.m. Nov. 17.

However, one statement differed in the recitation of facts between that of Steve Sells and Joetta Sells. Godfrey objected to Wade’s declaration that the girl weighed only 40 pounds, saying she actually weighed more than 52 pounds on Dec. 1 and even more on Dec. 2.

“I think it should be accurate,” Godfrey said, agreeing the change would not alter the outcome of the plea. “I think it’s unfair to Ms. Sells to indicate the child weighed 40 when the record shows she weighed more.”

Saying he was not in a position to resolve the dispute between Wade and Godfrey over the girl’s weight because there had been no trial and exhibits were not part of the file, Judge Mark Dudley ordered a 10-minute recess. That allowed Godfrey time to locate the evidence to correct the recitation.”

Joetta Sells pleads guilty to 10 of 12 counts of abuse, confinement and battery[Herald Bulletin 9/16/15 by Rebecca R. Bibbs]

“A last-minute twist in a Madison County neglect case stunned a neighborhood and prosecutors Monday afternoon.

Guilty pleas were on the table for the couple accused in the mistreatment of their teenage granddaughter,who was found weighing just 40 pounds.

Police describe it as one of the most disturbing investigations they’ve ever seen. Neighbors tell Eyewitness News they can’t believe Steve Sells backed out and left his wife, Joetta, take the responsibility.

“I’m appalled that he is going to let his wife take the fall for that,” said Heather Roemer, who lives near the home where the teenage girl was discovered in December 2014.

Prosecutors say the finger pointing between Steve and Joetta Sells started well before they arrived for sentencing. Joetta Sells told the court she didn’t know what happened to her granddaughter before she accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

“She was very self-serving in what she stated to the court about not knowing what happened to (the teen who) had been locked in a room for over a year. She wasn’t being fed,” said Stephanie Wade, the deputy prosecutor handling the case.

The 15-year-old girl, weighing only as much as a toddler, was rushed to a hospital near death. She was frail and covered in feces.

DCS records obtained by 13 Investigates uncovered reports of malnourishment and battery dating back to 2010. The paramedics who came to the girl’s rescue five years later say they still live with the memory of her ravaged body.

“Seeing her weighing 40, 50 pounds is pretty traumatic,” recalled EMT Marcus Dinkut.

Department of Child Services records obtained by 13 Investigates uncovered reports of alleged abuse dating back to 2010. The judge in the case said pets were treated better.

Prosecutors and the paramedics who treated the teen agree.

“Pictures you almost see out of the Holocaust,” described Dinkut.

“She was depleted. The doctors even reported she was nothing but skin and bones,” said Wade. “We did ask for the maximum under what was charged, which was 24 years, and we got that…so we’re pleased with the sentence.”

Prosecutors say it’s a miracle the girl has recovered and is now  at a healthy weight.

Neighbors had hoped court proceedings would bring an end to the gruesome case of abuse.

“Sad, very sad because it was right here and we didn’t know about it,” said Roemer’s husband, Mark, adding he’s “extremely happy” about Joetta Sells’ sentence.

“We lived here when they moved in and never knew she was there,” his wife added.

In a surprise move before the grandfather’s sentencing, Steve Sells, who had voluntarily agreed to plead to 12 counts including abuse, told the court he would not admit to the battery charge.

That reversal would make his entire plea void.

“He’s saying he did not hit her, which goes completely against the evidence given to the state,” said Wade. “She was dragged down the stairs and hit.”

Joetta Sells will now begin serving her 24-year prison sentence. Steve Sells will remain in the Madison County Jail and has a trial date set for  November 17.  

“He will get his day in court and I’m sure he will pay, as well. I mean the evidence is all there. He should pay as much as she does, if not more,” added Heather Roemer.

The Sells’ daughter and the victim’s aunt, Crystal Sells, was also charged in the case and will go to trial next month.”

Surprise turn at sentencing for couple in Anderson neglect case [WTHR 10/12/15 by Sandra Chapman]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “A Madison County grandfather has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for abusing and neglecting his disabled granddaughter.

Prosecutors said 68-year-old Steve Sells kept his teenage granddaughter locked in a room in his Anderson home for years. She weighed just 40 pounds and was covered in feces when officers took her from that home last December.

Sells wife, Joetta, received the same sentence earlier this month.

The girl’s foster mother tells our newsgathering partners at the Anderson Herald Bulletin that she is now thriving and looking forward to Christmas.”

Madison Co. grandfather sentenced to 24 years in neglect case [WTHR 11/20/15]