An Avondale Ohio woman was arrested after leaving her 5-year-old boy and her 20-month old baby in a portable crib, locked in a closet while she went to work. Police found the children with the boy surrounded by his own waste.
The police were notified by neighbors that heard bumping and banging from Fears' apartment. They broke down the door and found the children in the closet and surrounded by the 5-year-olds waste from being forced to go to the bathroom in the closet.
Fears was originally charged with 12 counts of endangering children and two counts of kidnapping.
In April of 2007 a Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted Fears on all 12 counts of endangering children and both counts of kidnapping.
Joe Deters, the prosecutor described the childrens condition as extremely famished, the closet was filled with feces and urine.
The boy was found wearing only his underwear and had ligature marks around his wrist and had multiple bruises.
The infant suffered from Osteoporosis and was found wearing only a diaper and had such severe diaper rash that the baby's skin was peeling off.
Both children were severely malnourished.
If fears had been convicted of all the charges she was indicted for, she could have faced 107 years in prison.
In May of 2008, Beverly Fears accepted a plea deal where she plead guilty to three counts of child endangering and one count of kidnapping.
She was due to be sentenced today but the sentencing has been postponed until July 10, 2008, awaiting the completion of a psychological report.
The kicker is that while Hamilton County Department of Jobs and Family Services said that for the two years prior to the children being found in the closet, there had been no complaints, but in 2004 the children had been taken away from Fears due to abuse and neglect allegations.
Fears attended parental counseling and the children were given back to her.
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