How Could You? Hall of Shame-Joshua and Brandi Weyant

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 Halifax, Pennsylvania, foster parents Joshua Ross Weyant, 33, and Brandi Jene Weyant, 38,  in ” December [2016] were charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and endangering the welfare of children.”

“Their three children were taken from their Halifax Township home in December after police said the Weyants denied them food and basic care for months. ”

“The Dauphin County couple charged with trying to starve their three children to death emerged out of a district court office after having waived their preliminary hearing on Monday.

Dauphin County District Judge Gregory Johnson sent the case against Joshua Ross Weyant, 33, and Brandi Jene Weyant, 38, of Halifax Township, to trial. The two will have their first court appearance in May. They also waived their arraignment hearing, which was scheduled for April.”

“Joshua and Brandi Weyant were escorted out of Johnson’s office on Monday afternoon by several state police troopers. Both kept their heads down and said nothing as they hurried past reporters and cameras.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle said the three Weyant children were doing well and had doubled their weight.

“All three of them are out of the hospital,” she said. “They are thriving. They have doubled their weight since police became involved.”

Gettle said the children remain in the care of a medical professional, who is providing foster care, and will remain under the care of that person for “quite some time.” She stressed that the children were not with family.”

“The children — a 6-year-old boy and girls ages 5 and 4–  were discovered by authorities on Dec. 16, they were underweight and their skin was caked with animal hair, dirt, feces and urine, according to an arrest affidavit. Their core body temperatures were 94 degrees, which is about four degrees below normal, apparently from spending much of their time locked in an unheated bedroom shared by all three.

Gettle said that among the most horrifying pieces of evidence were the photos that were taken of the children at the time of their parents’ arrest.

“They looked like they walked out of a concentration camp,” she said.

Medical authorities ruled that two of the children were two weeks away from death at the time they were removed from their home.

The children appeared emaciated, weak and had severe bruises and scrapes on their bodies, police said.

The 4-year-old weighed 26 pounds when investigators found him, according to court documents filed in the case. The 5-year-old weighed about 23 pounds; the 6-year-old weighed 27.3 pounds, charging documents say.

Gettle said the prosecution has photos showing deplorable conditions in the home – especially in the children’s room.

“I know that there have been pictures out in the media that show a room with lots of things, but the reality was the room police found that day was completely empty. There were no beds in the room. There were no toys in that room. The only thing was the paint peeling off the walls.”

The Weyants made no statement in the district judge’s office.

During an investigation, police said they learned the parents conspired to starve the children because Joshua Weyant no longer wanted them.

The victims told police they were locked in a bedroom with no heat during periods of freezing weather, starved for long stretches of time and violently assaulted by their parents.”

Weyant children have gone from near-death starvation to ‘thriving’; parents headed for court

[Penn Live 2/6/17 by Ivey De Jesus]

“A Dauphin County couple has pleaded guilty in a case where prosecutors say three children were so starved for food they peeled paint off the walls to survive.

Both Joshua and Brandi Weyant pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, conspiracy, false imprisonment, unlawful restraining and child endangerment.

Police acting on anonymous tip discovered the three children, a six-year-old boy and two girls, ages four and five, locked inside a room at the couple’s Halifax Township home in December.

Prosecutors say two of the children were close to dying of malnutrition.

While the Weyants raised the children, they were not their biological parents. Prosecutors say the children are in foster care.

They face a minimum of 10 years in prison during their sentencing scheduled for May.”

Dauphin County couple pleads guilty in case of child abuse, starvation

[WITF 2/16/18 by AP]

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