Littleton Couple Convicted Of Beating, Starving Son Sentenced
Littleton Couple Convicted Of Beating, Starving Son Sentenced
Police Say Boy Was Severely Abused
Posted: 07/13/2012
A Littleton couple convicted of abusing a 6-year-old boy they adopted were sentenced to more than a decade in prison each Friday.
Randall Arnold was sentenced to 18 years in prison. His wife, Christine, was given 22 years in prison, said Dave DeShaunt with Jefferson County District Attorneys Office.
They were arrested on suspicion of child abuse causing serious bodily injury and cruelty toward a child knowingly or recklessly causing injury.
The boy's plight came to light on Sept. 17, 2010 when Littleton firefighters were called to a home and told a young boy had fallen down the stairs and was unresponsive.
Paramedics said they noticed the boy had numerous bruises that were in various stages of healing, indicating they happened at different times.
The boy was taken to Children's Hospital in Aurora where doctors determined he suffered "severe malnutrition." Doctors said he had swelling on the brain and abrasions on his body, including U-shaped and V-shaped markings.
A search of the boy's home turned up a leather belt with a U-shaped buckle, consistent with the boy's bruises, the arrest warrant affidavit stated.
Christine Arnold told investigators that she was cooking and her son was playing near the stairs when she heard a crash and found him at the bottom of the stairs.
The boy's father said he didn't see any injuries on his son prior to seeing him in the hospital the day paramedics were called to the house.
Investigators said Randall Arnold's statement was at odds with a phone call he made to Columbine Hills Elementary School the day before, telling the school that his son had fallen out of bed and had "banged his head."
"Both parents reported that (the boy) was a difficult child and had a history of injuring himself," the affidavit stated. Randall called his son an "abnormal child."
Both parents told investigators that they never hurt the boy or struck him, according to the affidavit.
The parents told investigators that the boy stole food from other children at school and that they had to lock their son in his room at night because he would steal food from the kitchen at night, the affidavit said.
A Jefferson County social worker told investigators that the boy was measured and weighed before he was adopted from foster care in 2006.
He weighed 31 pounds at age 3, and weighed only 30 pounds when the 6-year-old was admitted to Children's Hospital.
The hospital said the boy gained 5 pounds in five days while he was at the hospital.
During a subsequent interview, the boy told a forensic interviewer that he didn't have any toys except for the ones that were in the basement and he had to ask to play with them. The boy said he ate breakfast and dinner in the kitchen alone and that his parents ate at a different time.
Investigators examined the boy's room and described it as "relatively sparse," containing a bed with a top and bottom sheet, no blanket and no pillow, two dressers and some pictures on the wall. There was a sliding chain lock on the outside of the door to the boy's room, according to the affidavit.