by Troy Myers

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — After about five hours of deliberations, the jury delivered their verdict: guilty on all charges -- false imprisonment, aggravated child abuse and child neglect.

Timothy Ferriter, the father accused of locking his teenage adopted son in an 8x8 box, expressed shock, eyes widening when the judge said he will be booked into the Palm Beach County Jail when the courtroom adjourned. The man could face up to 40 years in prison.

Jury deliberations stalled when the court faced legal technicalities Thursday in Timothy's trial.

Around 10:30 a.m., the jury requested to see the adopted son's sister's testimony played back.

By LAUREN SILVER and GRACE WONG

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Court TV) — A man is standing trial in Florida on charges he locked his adopted teenage son in a box in his garage for hours at a time.

Timothy Ferriter was indicted, along with his wife, Tracey Ferriter, in March 2022 on charges of aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment.

Though the couple was initially charged together, their cases were severed at Timothy’s request, citing comments his wife made to police when he was not present.

Police in Jupiter, Florida, began investigating the couple after their son was reported missing on Jan. 28, 2022. At the time, Tracey told police that the child, who was missing, had “run away from home on several occasions before” and told officers that her adopted son had several behavioral disorders.

SHEYANNE N ROMERO   Visalia Times-Delta

A Tulare County woman serving a life sentence for the 2000 death of her 5-year-old adopted daughter will remain in prison, according to Tulare County District Attorney's Office.

Last week, prosecutors secured a parole denial for Angela Thompson.

In October 2001, a jury convicted Thompson, 64, of second-degree murder, assault on a child likely to cause great bodily injury or death, and child abuse. She is currently serving a life sentence at the California Institution for Women in Corona in Southern California.

The denial is for five years, according to prosecutors. This was Thompson’s second parole hearing.

by VICTORIA DE CARDENAS | WPEC Staff

EST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) — “This language is not used out there in front of the baby and the girls, but you’re a tough guy, right?"

The jury in the trial of Timothy Ferriter watched and heard hours of sometimes difficult video involving Ferriter and his adopted teenage son, forced to live in an 8-by-8-foot box in the family's Florida garage.

"If you’re going to break s*** then break s***! Right? I don’t give a s***. Let’s break it! Let’s break all this s***. I don’t need it. Let's rip it off the wall!” Ferriter was heard on video from a camera installed on the ceiling of the structure.

The state rested its case, Friday, after showing a few more hours of exchanges between the boy who was 14 in January 2022, and Ferriter, who is charged with false imprisonment, aggravated child abuse, and child neglect. Wife and adoptive mother Tracy Ferriter will be tried separately.

Jurors watch more Ring camera videos showing Jupiter father's interactions with adopted son in box-like structure in garage

By: Jay Cashmere , Peter Burke

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Prosecutors rested their case Friday in the trial of a Jupiter father accused of locking his adopted son in a box-like structure in the garage, and the defense immediately sought a judgment of acquittal.

Tim Ferriter, 48, is on trial facing charges of child abuse, false imprisonment and child neglect. His wife is facing the same charges in a separate trial that has not yet begun.

The trial resumed Friday with jurors watching several more hours' worth of Ring camera videos showing the Ferriters' interactions with the teenager in the 8x8 enclosure specially constructed for him in the garage of the couple's Egret Landing home.

JULIUS WHIGHAM II   USA TODAY NETWORK

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Was it aggravated child abuse? Or simply bad parenting?

A jury will decide the fate of Timothy Ferriter, whose case went to trial Tuesday, more than a year after police accused him and his wife, Tracy, of confining one of their four children in a box-like structure in the garage of their Jupiter, Florida, home.

The state will try the Ferriters separately in the case, which drew international attention after their arrests in February 2022, with courtroom TV channels covering it for hours at a time. Besides aggravated child abuse, Timothy Ferriter, 48, faces charges of false imprisonment and child neglect.

The teen had a history of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and a condition known as reactive attachment disorder, Tracy Ferriter told investigators prior to her arrest. The disorder keeps children from forming bonds with their family members, and it can lead them to act out or make it difficult for children to accept love.

By GRACE WONG

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Court TV) — The first day of trial has wrapped for the Florida father standing trial on charges he locked his adopted teenage son in a box in his garage for hours at a time.

Timothy Ferriter was indicted, along with his wife, Tracey Ferriter, in March 2022 on charges of aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment. Though the couple was initially charged together, their cases were severed at Timothy’s request, citing comments his wife made to police when he was not present.

Ferriter’s daughter, who is being referred to as FF, testified that he was a disciplinarian who treated his adopted son RF more harshly than his other children and exiled him to a windowless room in the garage for most of the time that he was home.

The 17-year-old testified remotely via closed circuit TV, as her parents Tim and Tracy Ferriter watched from the courtroom. The couple presented a united front, entering the courtroom together holding hands, before Tracy took a seat in the gallery behind her husband, the defendant.

A 14-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl were found locked inside of a shed on Monday evening

By Charna Flam

Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather are in police custody after two children were allegedly found locked in a shed in Sissonville, West Virginia, the Kanawha County Sheriff's office said in a press release.

Deputy H.K. Burdette responded to a call to the 200 block of Cheyenne Lane in Sissonville just after 5:45 p.m. local time on Monday afternoon, the department said. The caller saw a man open the shed, speak to the minors and then lock the shed behind him, authorities said.

“Deputies had to force entry into the barn where they located a juvenile male and juvenile female locked inside an approximate 20x14 foot room,” reported the sheriff's office.

by SHANNON STOWERS | WCHS

Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Jay Whitefeather, 61, both of Sissonville, were charged with felony gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said they were called to the 200 block of Cheyenne Lane in Sissonville where two children were found locked in a 20x14 barn following a welfare call.

The caller told dispatchers they believed the children were locked in the barn for days at a time, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.

The caller also told deputies they’d seen Lantz open the door to the barn, say something to the children and then close and lock the door back, deputies said. The caller also alleged the children were made to do farm work and not allowed in the home.

Adoption agencies said some countries are just now lifting their restrictions for adoptions after the pandemic. With other agencies closing nationwide, children are aging out of the process in greater numbers than ever before.

International adoption agencies are scrambling to help families after Dillon International announced it will no longer offer adoption services.

Dillon said there are several reasons for their closure, including the rising cost to maintain its accreditation.

Adoption agencies said some countries are just now lifting their restrictions for adoptions after the pandemic. With other agencies closing nationwide, children are aging out of the process in greater numbers than ever before.

Kara and Josh Moseby said their family is now complete after adopting Tariku from Ethiopia and Fini from India.