Parents forced 3-year-old boy to live alone in shed: Cops
Share and Follow

Left: Joseph Turner. Right: Sarah Pombert (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office).

A Georgia couple is behind bars after they allegedly made their 3-year-old son live in a dirty shed without any running water or electricity for nearly a month.

Joseph Matthew Turner, 35, and Sarah Elizabeth Pombert, 34, stand accused of second-degree cruelty to children. According to an arrest warrant from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Turner and Pombert made the boy live in a shed behind their home in the 7000 block of Judge Avenue in Douglasville, which is some 20 miles west of Atlanta, for roughly three weeks.

More from Law&Crime: Child forced to sleep on entertainment center to ‘get away’ from the ‘hundreds of black flies and cockroaches’ in parent’s filthy home: Police

Turner and Pombert caused “cruel/excessive, mental/physical pain” to the boy by keeping him in a “dirty living space in a shed without running water or electricity, and left the child unsupervised, unbathed, and unclothed with criminal negligence.” The alleged neglect occurred between May 1 and May 22.

Cops filed the charges on May 29 and arrested the couple on June 2, per court records.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

Local ABC affiliate WSB spoke to neighbor Matthew Govoni who said the shed burned down over Memorial Day Weekend, which is what sparked the investigation. Govoni said “there was a huge fire with explosions” that destroyed the shed. The warrant did not detail the fire nor how investigators discovered the alleged abuse of the boy who was not injured in the fire.

Govoni said the couple lived in the home for about 10 years and were not the best of neighbors. He was not shocked by the allegations.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like

Chilling Revelations: Surgeon Allegedly Made Threats Years Before Ex-Wife and Her New Husband’s Tragic Deaths, Police Report

An Illinois surgeon, Michael D. McKee, stands accused of fatally shooting his…

Trump Administration Faces Lawsuit for Alleged FOIA Violations Over Secretive ICE Surveillance Policy

President Donald Trump listens as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during…

Intriguing Link Uncovered Between Infamous Black Dahlia and Zodiac Cases

Los Angeles’ infamous cold case, the Black Dahlia, has intrigued the public…

Teen Allegedly Fatally Shoots Neighbor, Resides in Victim’s Home for Two Weeks, Authorities Report

Background: News footage of David Jimenez”s house in Phoenix, Ariz. (KPHO). Inset:…

Shocking Verdict: Couple Receives Lenient Sentences for Grisly Double Murder and Dismemberment

Inset: Jeffrey Mackey and Alexis Nieves walking to a courtroom appearance (Newsday).…

Tennessee Church Deacon Arrested for Allegedly Recording 15-Year-Old Babysitter in Bathroom

In a shocking turn of events, a church deacon from Tennessee was…

Cause of Death Unveiled for Special Education Teacher Linda Brown Found in Lake Michigan

The cause behind the tragic death of Linda Brown, a dedicated special…

Inmate Faces Charges for Making 70 Unauthorized Calls to Victim in a Week

Staff Report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Lorenzo Joshua Johnson Jr., 22, initially detained…