Couple Faces Hearing In Child-Abuse Case
Couple Faces Hearing In Child-Abuse Case
3 Boys Were ‘Literally Skin And Bones’
POSTED: 12:36 pm EDT July 17, 2006
UPDATED: 6:20 am EDT July 18, 2006
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Spartanburg County couple accused of starving three boys in their care faced a judge for the second time in three days on Monday afternoon.
The boys, ages 5, 7 and 8, were been taken into protective custody on Friday after they were found severely malnourished, burned and bruised.
Monday's hearing was to determine if the state Department of Social Services had justification for removing the children from the home.
Molly and Dennis McCurry were the legal guardians of the children. Both face multiple charges of inflicting great bodliy harm upon a child.
Under South Carolina law, inflicting great bodily harm upon a child is considered a violent crime.
The couple said very little during the hearing and showed no emotion as investigators laid out the allegations against them and showed photographs of the boys physical condition and injuries.
In an incident report, the boys were described as "extremely thin and weak" and "were literally skin and bones." The 5-year-old weighed less than 20 pounds, the report said.
A doctor who examined the children also discovered burns and bruises on the children's bodies.
"If someone had not called 911 and it had gone on much longer we would probably be working a death investigation," Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Bobo told WYFF News 4's Elise Hu.
Bobo said he also found evidence that the boys were sometimes tied up with plastic "zip ties," to keep them away from food.
The boys, as well as the McCurry’s biological daughter, were immediately placed in Department of Social Services custody.
The boys were still hospitalized late Sunday.
A family member told News 4 that the boys’ father died in an accident and their mother’s whereabouts are unknown.
Because no parents were present, the McCurrys had custody.
A Spartanburg County judge denied bond for both McCurrys at a bond hearing late Friday night.
The McCurrys told the judge that the boys were underweight due to a stomach virus.