How Could You? Hall of Shame-Matthew Earl Waldmiller and Diane Seifert Waldmiller 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 Roy, Utah, adoptive parents Matthew Earl Waldmiller, 40, and his wife, 41-year-old Diane Seifert Waldmiller “who have been licensed to provide foster care in Utah since 2013 have been arrested for investigation of abusing their sons. ”

They “were each booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of two counts of intentionally inflicting serious physical injury on a child, according to jail records.

The couple came to the attention of police Thursday when the Utah Division of Child and Family Services contacted detectives about a neglect complaint the agency had received on March 17, Roy Police Sgt. Matt Gwynn said.

“We began our investigation immediately,” Gwynn said.

Investigators who went to the Waldmillers’ Roy home reported that the couple’s three sons — ages 7 to 11 — had been locked in a bedroom for 10 to 13 hours at a time, Gwynn said. There were three twin mattresses on the floor in the room without any bedding, and the light fixture in the room did not have a bulb, investigators said.

The only exterior window in the bedroom was painted black and screwed shut,” Gwynn said.

Detectives developed information that the window was screwed shut after the boys “escaped from the room to go dumpster diving at a nearby school for food,” the sergeant said.

“As punishment for that (the Waldmillers) made the boys eat white rice that had been heavily seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper,” Gwynn said.

Two of the boys had marks on their wrists that indicated they had been bound with plastic zip ties, the sergeant said. The children appeared to be underweight, and there was also evidence their eyes and mouths had been covered with duct tape at some point, Gwynn said.

“This was not reckless. It was not negligent,” he said. “This was intentional.”

Public records obtained Saturday from the Utah Office of Licensing show Matthew and Diane Waldmiller have been continuously licensed as foster care providers since August 2013. They were in good standing with no agency actions against them, the records show.

The Waldmillers adopted three boys in October 2015, according to posts on their individual Facebook pages. At the time of their arrests, they were fostering a 2-year-old girl, according to Gwynn. There is no evidence the girl suffered any abuse, he said.

“We think this might have been ‘discipline’ directed at the boys,” the sergeant said, “but we really don’t know what the motivation behind this is.”

DCFS spokeswoman Ashley Sumner said she could not speak specifically about the Waldmillers’ case, but Department of Human Services’ policy requires the state agency’s Office of Services Review to investigate any allegations against foster care providers to prevent potential conflicts of interest.

“Our first consideration is child safety,” Sumner said, “and we work with law enforcement to determine what happened and what is best for the safety of the children.”

All four children have been removed from the Waldmillers’ home, Gwynn said. No formal charges had been filed against the couple Saturday. Jail records show Matthew and Diane Waldmiller are each being held in lieu of $31,500 bail.”

Roy foster parents arrested for abusing 3 sons, police say [Ksl 3/25/17 by Geoffrey Llesik]

“According to charging documents obtained by the Deseret News, the boys, who were reportedly adopted in October 2015, were routinely locked in a room overnight, with the younger boys forced to wear diapers. The 11-year-old boy described additional instances of abuse — including being stuffed in a suitcase for a month — to the investigators:

The 11-year-old disclosed that he and his brothers are given ‘night pills’ to sleep. He stated that he and his brothers have been hit with a 2×4 piece of wood on the ‘butt.’ He disclosed that Diane hits him on the nose and causes it to bleed.

He stated he is not allowed to drink after 6 p.m. He further described that he was zip tied in a ‘hog-tie’ style and put in a suitcase for a month period of time.

The other boys also reported being restrained with zip ties that functioned as handcuffs, and having duct tape placed over their eyes and mouth. One of the boys said he was forced to perform exercises in order to earn food.

Roy Police Sgt. Matt Gwynn told the newspaper the investigation began after the Utah Division of Child and Family Services received a neglect complaint on March 17 and alerted authorities.

Investigators reportedly responded right away and visited the home, where they found the three boys to be suffering from serious neglect: All three were underweight and not being properly fed.

The boys reportedly told investigators that at one point, they had escaped the bedroom though a window to go searching for food in dumpsters. Investigators told the newspaper that the parents punished them by serving them rice that was intentionally over- seasoned with salt and cayenne pepper. The window the boys escaped from was locked and painted black. It was the only window in the bedroom, and the light fixture did not have a bulb.

“This was not reckless. It was not negligent,” Sgt. Gwynn told the newspaper. “This was intentional.

The Waldmillers have reportedly had an active foster care license in Utah since 2013. A 2-year-old foster child, a girl, was living in the home at the time of the arrest, and did not exhibit any signs of abuse or neglect.

“We think this might have been ‘discipline’ directed at the boys,” Sgt. Gwynn said, “but we really don’t know what the motivation behind this is.”

The Waldmillers reportedly admitted in police interviews to locking the boys in the room for an extended period, covering their faces with duct tape, and tying their wrists together with zip ties.

All four of the children, including the 2-year-old girl, have been removed from the home.”

Foster parents from hell: Utah couple accused of hog-tying boy, stuffing him in suitcase for a month[Crime Online 3/28/17 by Ellen Killoran]

“These people need to be responsible for what they did!” said Tamey Boles, the victims’ biological grandmother. “You don’t do this to children. It’s not right.”

Boles was unable to take custody of her two biological grandsons and their 11-year-old foster brother because of a medical condition, KUTV reported. When the boys’ mother died four years ago, Mary Ellen Watterson and her husband became foster parents and kept in touch with Boles, who lives in Boise, Idaho.”

Diane and Matthew Waldmiller took over as foster parents two years ago and cut ties with the boys’ relatives and the Wattersons.

“The judge said in court that these boys need to have a relationship with their grandmother, no matter what. And they didn’t do that,” said Mary Ellen Watterson.”

Foster parents accused of locking 3 boys in room, zip tying their wrists[CBS 3/29/17 by AP]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:”Diane and Matthew Waldmiller were supposed to be a lifeline for their foster children, a judge told them Friday, someone to save them from their troubled upbringings.

They were supposed to provide a home and stability that the children did not have, 2nd District Judge Michael DiReda said, and had been trained by the state as trusted child caretakers.

Instead, the Waldmillers engaged in what the judge deemed incomprehensible abuse: The three boys were restrained with zip ties, and at times had their mouths, ears or eyes covered with duct tape. They were locked in a dark room with restricted access to food, and slept on bare mattresses on the floor.

“I can’t even visualize it,” DiReda told the couple at the Friday sentencing hearing. “Taping their heads just flies in the face of common sense and reasoning, and just basic human decency.”

The couple could have asked for help, DiReda said, but instead abused the boys and left them emotionally damaged.

And for that, the judge ordered the Waldmillers would pay a hefty price, sentencing each to serve a one-to-15 year term at the Utah State Prison.

The couple in August pleaded guilty to second-degree felony child abuse. Their attorneys had asked the judge for a sentence of just a few months in jail, saying the couple was overwhelmed by the difficult behavior of the three children. The judge disagreed, saying jail time was too lenient for such severe abuse.

As he looked at a photo of the three boys, DiReda said they were normal kids, full of energy and enthusiasm, who looked like the type of boys who probably wrestled each other and fought and made noise. To him, they looked like “little angels,” the judge said, adding that he could understand how the couple could be so cruel to them.

“I’m afraid for their future and what it looks like,” the judge said. “ … It’s incredibly unfair to me that a child should have to carry these types of burdens into adulthood.”

The Waldmillers both gave tearful apologies in court before they were sentenced. After his attorney revealed that Matthew Waldmiller has been abused himself as a child, the 39-year-old man wept as he told the judge that he wished he would have done things differently.”

Utah foster parents who zip-tied, duct-taped their children give tearful apologies before sentencing

[Salt Lake City Tribune 09/29/17 by Jessica Miller]