Authorities in Wyoming have arrested a couple following distressing allegations of torture and neglect involving a teenage boy. The couple, identified as Stephanie Linke, 36, and Michael Gruchacz, 35, face serious charges of aggravated child abuse.

According to law enforcement officials, these charges stem from incidents that have reportedly taken place over the past four months. The situation escalated on October 16 when the couple took the 14-year-old boy to a hospital in Cheyenne, as detailed by the Cheyenne Police Department.

Upon their arrival at the medical facility, Linke allegedly claimed her son had been deliberately depriving himself of food and drink. This information was documented in a probable cause affidavit, which was reported by Cap City News and Cowboy State Daily.

Further shocking details emerged as the mother reportedly admitted to hospital staff that she had been compelling her son to drink approximately two gallons of water each day, authorities claim.

The mother then told staff she had been forcing her son to consume roughly two gallons of water per day, police allege.

At the time of his arrival at the hospital, the 14-year-old was 5-foot-4 and weighed roughly 92 pounds, law enforcement officials claim.

To explain the boy’s weight issues, Linke allegedly said her son had a series of behavioral issues and refused to eat because he was denied junk food and soda, police say.

Hospital staff also noticed another problem: The boy had a “long-term” untreated wound behind one of his ears, along with other bruises and scrapes on his body, according to the affidavit.

As for the water, it had actually caused more harm than good, police claim. The boy’s excessive consumption of the fluid had caused hyponatremia, a condition where the amount of salt in the body is too low due to constant flushing of electrolytes, authorities allege. Medical staff told police the child would have likely died from the malady had he not received the medical care when he finally did.

The staff went on to note the child had an oxygen saturation level of 82% — while normal levels are between 95% and 100%, according to the affidavit. The child victim faced the likelihood of total organ failure if his conditions had been left untreated, authorities claim.

After being discharged from the hospital, the boy allegedly told investigators Linke often yelled at him, hit him, and dragged him on the carpet. The victim also allegedly said Gruchacz once hit him in the neck and shoulder with a “karate chop,” according to the affidavit.

In the charging document, prosecutors allege the couple inflicted “substantial mental or emotional injury by the torture or cruel confinement of the child” as well as serious bodily injury.

The inciting incident was the boy vomiting and “continuously urinating” before becoming unresponsive, Gruchacz said, according to the affidavit. The couple revived him in the bathtub before calling 911. When paramedics arrived, the boy was combative with them, Gruchacz allegedly told police. He was later taken directly to the hospital.

In one home surveillance video obtained by law enforcement, Gruchacz allegedly paces back and forth in front of the victim before taking him to the hospital and saying: “We will report everything you have done since that is the only way we can protect your mom.”

Eventually, the child was flown to the Children’s Hospital in Denver. He regained consciousness there the next day.

The charging document recounts an alleged conversation between the couple on Oct. 13, five days before the boy was hospitalized:

Linke: “He is eating now.”

Gruchacz: “Punch him in the throat.”

Linke: “First [he] just walked upstairs without being called.”

Gruchacz: “I see. Was he looking for open kitchen hours?”

The affidavit also refers to a video clip from a home surveillance camera in the basement in which the male defendant allegedly tells the boy’s mother while the child is near them both: “Ya know, if you suspend him by his feet and make a small slit, all the blood in his body will drain out.”

The boy would go on to explain that he previously lived with his grandmother before coming to live with his mom and her boyfriend, according to the affidavit. While the defendants accused the child himself of refusing food, doctors described him as “moderately malnourished” and vitamin-deficient and said he gained 11 pounds during his stint in the hospital.

In separate interviews with law enforcement, the boy’s siblings allegedly said their brother lived in the basement and was typically only allowed to eat leftovers, ramen, and peanut butter, unless he “earned” the privilege of eating a meal with the rest of the family, according to the affidavit.

Gruchacz has since bonded out of the Laramie County Jail; Linke is currently detained on $50,000 bond.