Trevor Reichard-Hayes and Katherine Carter face murder charges after their 2-year-old son Erik died from severe starvation in Tell City, Indiana. Authorities say the boy weighed just 15 pounds and had eaten drywall and diapers out of hunger. Two other children were removed from the filthy home.
Trevor Reichard-Hayes, 39, and Katherine Carter, 31, were arrested last week in connection with the death of 2-year-old Erik Reichard, according to the Tell City Police Department. Officers responded to a 911 call on March 31 at around 1:19 p.m. from the 100 block of Guttenberg Lane, where the child was found unresponsive. First responders tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene after likely being deceased for several hours; the parents had last seen him alive at 11 p.m. the night before, about 14 hours earlier. Reichard-Hayes placed the call, reporting that Carter had found the boy unresponsive, court documents obtained by WFIE show. Each parent faces charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect resulting in serious bodily injury, and neglect of a dependent. The relationship between the couple and Erik was not specified by authorities. An autopsy by the Perry County Coroner's Office found no signs of physical abuse but revealed the toddler had ingested drywall, paint chips, spackling, and diaper materials, likely due to extreme hunger. He weighed only 15 pounds—half the expected weight for his age—and had more than 40 sores or bug bites on his body. Katherine Carter told investigators the boy had eaten his diapers, which police attributed to malnourishment. The home was squalid, with feces on bedroom floors, scattered drywall debris, paint chips, dirt, soiled diapers, and insects throughout. One child's room had an uncleaned training toilet full of feces and urine, while another's doorknob was reversed to lock the child inside. In contrast, the adults' bedroom was clean. Two additional children were removed from the home by the Indiana Department of Child Services. The investigation continues.