'Thought she was a thief': Dad, stepmom locked refrigerator, cabinets to prevent starving 5-year-old girl from getting food, leaving her to eat Play-Doh, cops say

A Utah begetter and his woman are down bars aft they allegedly starved a 5-year-old girl to the constituent wherever she had to edifice to eating her ain feces and different non-food items specified arsenic Play-Doh.

David Fivas, 32, and Jessica Harmes, 44, basal accused of kid torture, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office said. According to a probable origin apprehension affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the West Valley City Police Department began investigating connected Aug. 30 aft Fivas brought the 5-year-old miss to the infirmary due to the fact that she was "not gaining value and would devour her ain feces." Fivas allegedly said helium gained custody of the miss erstwhile she was astir 15 months aged and has "steadily decreased connected the maturation chart."

Doctors noted the miss weighed astir the aforesaid arsenic a emblematic 16-month-old child. But aft much than 2 weeks successful the infirmary with "consistent, scheduled meals" she gained astir 9 pounds, the affidavit said.

Fivas said his girl would devour until she vomited and would ingest non-food items specified arsenic Play-Doh and wax, the affidavit stated. He besides claimed the miss would "steal" nutrient from the refrigerator and pantry which caused them to enactment kid locks connected them. The suspect "thought she was a thief."

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Investigators judge Fivas and Harmes were purposely withholding nutrient from her. Fivas admitted that helium "resented" the miss and did not dainty her well. Another kid was successful the location and helium was not starving, cops noted.

"Over the people of astatine slightest 2 years, the unfortunate has been plummeting successful wellness and growth," detectives wrote. "The defendants, aggravated that the unfortunate was 'stealing food' that they were depriving her of, went a measurement further and enactment kid information locks connected each furniture and appliance that had food."

Cops don't judge that the miss was overeating, but alternatively trying to "save" herself by eating non-food items oregon scavenging for nutrient erstwhile everyone was asleep, per the affidavit.

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"A communal late-stage manifestation of starvation is the quality to flooded revulsion and devour non-food successful an effort to prolong themselves, and that eating feces is apt owed to starvation," cops wrote.

Fivas and Harmes allegedly tried to concoct the overeating communicative to support detectives from learning what was truly going connected wrong the home.

After Harmes became large with their child, Fivas said helium called the Department of Child and Family Services to springiness the unfortunate up but they wouldn't instrumentality her.

"Harmes said that Fivas asked them to instrumentality custody of her due to the fact that helium didn't privation her and didn't privation to instrumentality attraction of her," the affidavit reads.

The starvation wasn't the lone signifier of maltreatment the miss was suffering, cops said.

Detectives discovered she was forced to slumber connected the crushed with lone a blanket. The defendants besides did not enactment her successful school, making constabulary judge they were trying to isolate her. Another kid successful the location confirmed galore of the allegations against the defendants, cops said.

Prosecutors during Fivas' enslaved proceeding connected Thursday called the incidental highly concerning and asked that helium beryllium kept successful jailhouse without bond.

"This is simply a substance of being deprived nutrient and being prevented from stealing food," the authoritative said. "Apparently, she was truthful hungry, she's inactive successful diapers and eating her ain feces. This is simply a small beyond conscionable not taking attraction of a kid oregon neglecting a child. This is intentionally harming this peculiar child."

Judge Richard W. Daynes connected Thursday denied Fivas' merchandise from the Salt Lake County Jail.

"I bash hold that this idiosyncratic is simply a information to the community, not conscionable to his ain children, but to immoderate different children. Based connected the depravity of the allegations here, it would look to maine that there's much going connected present than conscionable elemental neglect."

Fivas' adjacent proceeding is scheduled for Nov. 24. Harmes besides remains successful jailhouse without bond.

Their children are successful the custody of the state.