COUPLE IS ACCUSED OF CAGING TEENAGER

US / WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF\ COUPLE IS ACCUSED OF CAGING TEENAGER

Author: (AP)

CLAYTON, Mo. - A lawyer and his wife have been arrested on suspicion of child abuse for punishing their adopted 13-year-old son by keeping him inside a cage-like cubicle in the basement, police said. Howard Munson, 37, and his 35-year-old wife, Marjorie, of north St. Louis County, were arrested at their home on Friday and released in their own recognizance pending any charges. Officers went to the home after an anonymous caller notified the state Division of Family Services of the confinement, St. Louis County police Lt. Richard O'Connor said. The couple greeted police cordially at the front door of their home and led them to the crate, where the officers found the boy fully clothed but without shoes in a basement so cold that officers could see the condensation of their breath, police said.