Parents Charged With Murder in Death of 12-Year-Old Boy Who Was Starved and Chained in Motel Bathtub

Jeremy Sandberg
By Jeremy Sandberg
June 1, 2019US News
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Parents Charged With Murder in Death of 12-Year-Old Boy Who Was Starved and Chained in Motel Bathtub
(Luis Posso and Dayana Medina-Flores/Monroe County Sheriff's Department)

The parents of a 12-year-old boy who was allegedly chained and starved to death are being charged with murder and multiple counts of neglect.

The boy, Eduardo Posso, was brought into the Bloomington hospital in Indiana by his father at 2:52 a.m. and determined to be dead at 3:05 a.m., according to Sheriff Bradley A. Swain of Monroe County. His body showed multiple signs of abuse and starvation.

“You don’t even want to let your mind go to imagine what this child’s thoughts were and what his prospects for his future were,” said Swain. “Those are the kind of things that will play on the minds of the investigators.”

Motel Nightmare

Luis Posso, 32, and his wife Dayana Medina Flores, 25, were working for an advertising company contracted out by a circus that tours the United States.

They were in Monroe County staying at a motel with the boy and Flores’s three other children. Posso and Flores were arrested and held at the Monroe County Correctional Center in Bloomington, Indiana on May 24.

According to a press release from Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, detectives found restraints and an electric shock collar meant for dogs when searching the motel room.

When examining the parents’ mobile phones during the investigation, video footage of the boy restrained in the bathtub was found, along with footage of the other children and Flores entering and leaving the bathroom and ignoring him.

“The initial thoughts are that he starved to death,” said Swain.

A selfie photo of the father with the boy in restraints was also found.

The coroner on the case, Joni Shields said it had been a long time since he had eaten, not just overnight.

“He was severely emaciated, weighing approximately 50-55 pounds,” said Shields. “There was definitely signs of severe starvation, and abuse as well, soft tissue abuse … bruises.”

Lt. Jennifer Allen of Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in the press conference that the boy was already deceased when his father brought him into the hospital.

“Both the father and stepmother denied any type of withholding food from the child,” said Allen in an interview with WXIN. “The father did admit to some sorts of physical abuse on the child.”

Hard to Imagine

Aurea Esmeralda Garcia, the boy’s biological mother, said in an interview with WXIN that she wishes she could have intervened.

“It never came to my head that they were going to chain him up like an animal, or they were not going to feed him,” said Garcia. “Because you would never do that to anyone, especially if he’s your own child.”

The sheriff department said that Posso was being held on $500,000 bond and Flores, who is a Mexican National, was being held on a $500,000 surety bond and an ICE detainer.

Posso and Flores both plead not guilty at their first court hearing in Bloomington, Indiana on May 31.

They are both being charged with murder, battery, neglect of a dependent, and criminal confinement.

The other children including a 9-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, and a 2-year-old boy are healthy and now in the care of Child Protection services.

Users on Facebook expressed their sadness and condolences, expressing their concern for the other children who witnessed the traumatic experience.

“My prayers are with that 12-year-old boy,” one Facebook user posted. “There is no amount of punishment that can equal what they did. I’m heartbroken and angry that anyone could ever hurt a child. Prayers for the other children too. They are all going to be affected by this.”

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, a private funeral service is to be held for Eduardo Posso, prior to his remains returning home with his family.

“You can just imagine turning a fan off, and his life just slowly stopped,” said Swain.

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