The endangering children charges have specifications for torture, sexual matter, serious physical harm, corporal punishment - serious physical harm and corporal punishment.
On Nov. 18, 2024, a woman called 911 after she found an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl wandering in Dayton.
“I was looking out my door and I saw them walking and something just didn’t sit right with me,” the 911 caller said, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch records.
The boy was bruised and had cuts, bloodshot eyes and a lip injury that prevented him from closing his mouth, according to Montgomery County Juvenile Court records.
When Dayton police arrived, the children reported their mother’s boyfriend, Knox, regularly tortured them and that he smacked and hit the boy, court documents read.
They reportedly said they were only able to leave because their mother and Knox weren’t home.
“(The girl) reported to police that she told (her brother) that this was their only opportunity to escape,” court records stated.
The children were taken to Dayton Children’s Hospital.
The girl had a bruise on her side and signs of malnutrition, according to juvenile court documents. She was discharged the next day.
The boy had injuries to his face and body, including fractures, burns, cuts and bruising, court records stated. He was discharged on Nov. 21, 2024.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and found the children were confined to a room at an Arlene Avenue house that was filled with trash, debris and evidence and physical abuse, according to Dayton Municipal Court records.
The house was reportedly dirty and had cat feces throughout it.
“The children’s bedroom appeared to be worse, with a strong odor, trash and refuse in the room,” according to juvenile court documents. “Blood was visible on the wall, mattress, air mattress, curtains, towel and items of clothing.”
There were bottles of urine and trash bags in the room, as well as burn ointment. A camera was propped up on Pringles cans facing into the room, according to juvenile court records.
A municipal court affidavit stated the girl told investigators they were not allowed to leave the room or Knox would punish them.
He reportedly did not let the children’s mother, Kayla Shepherd, see the children.
Shepherd told detectives she believed the kids had been confined to the room since summer 2024, according to municipal court documents. She reportedly hadn’t seen her son since October 2024 and her daughter since early November 2024.
Juvenile court records stated Shepherd denied hearing any screams or crying coming from the kids’ room.
Knox said he didn’t know how the children were injured, according to juvenile court documents. He claimed Shepherd got a sitter for the children for when they left the house, but he didn’t know who they were.
Shepherd previously pleaded guilty to four counts of endangering children and one count each of drug paraphernalia and aggravated possession of drugs, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court documents.
One of the endangering children charges was a first-degree misdemeanor. The drug paraphernalia charge was a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
Knox is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11, and Shepherd will be sentenced on May 29.
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