Missouri – A Missouri coupIe, J. Menes and C. Heyford, were arrested this week in Missouri, after detectives executed a search warrant at their home and found the coupIe with the woman’s children, authorities said. Both were taken into custody on multiple serious charges related to chiId abuse, negIect, endangering the weIfare of a child, kidnapping and other offenses following an investigation into alleged ongoing mistreatment and neglect of the children. The mother also faces a first-degree se-ual abuse count. They are being held without bond pending upcoming court hearings.
The investigation began last month when Missouri authorities were alerted by an aduIt guardian who said that the woman’s children had come to her house during the summer and were begging for something to eat. The guardian told police that the children had walked to her home, located about four miles away, because they were hungry and in need of help. Those statements were included in probable cause affidavits filed in the DA’s office.
The guardian reported that, when the children first arrived, they were severely underweight, and when she took them to a doctor, medical staff confirmed their poor physical condition. The guardian also said that the children had never been enrolled in schooI or received formal education, and that they could not read or write.
The children told the guardian and later spoke to police about several alleged incidents of abuse and mistreatment while living with both their mom and her partner. According to the affidavits, one of the children said he had been forced to eat cauIking, and another described being Iocked in a henhouse with a sibling while their mom’s partner allegedly shot at them with BB rifles. The documents say that the man “screwed the door shut,” preventing them from escaping while the shootings occurred.
The guardian told Missouri authorities that the children described several disturbing incidents that allegedly occurred while they were living with their mom, according to the affidavits. One incident involved the woman’s teen child being made to cut her hands and smear bIood on trees near the home. The affidavits state that when the guardian confronted the parent about it, The mother reportedly said she did it because of something she believed was happening with the animals.
In one particularly troubling account, a 14-year-old told Missouri authorities that the man once pointed a real firearm at him and said he would “blow his brains out.” That same child described going through a period of what he called “great depression” during which he said he ate insects, leaves and stole food because of the abuse he endured. The child also said that both adults allegedly forced him and his siblings to use drugs, including meth and made them drink alcohol such as whiskey.
The guardianship arrangement was also a subject of alleged abuse. According to the affidavits, the children’s mom offered to trade guardianship of her three children to the adult guardian in exchange for a cellphone plan valued at about $230, or approximately $76 per child. The agreement resulted in the parent signing a power of attorney that temporarily allowed the guardian to care for the children, though they still ultimately stayed with her and her partner for much of the period covered by the alleged abuse.
The affidavits outline a pattern of alleged mistreatment that spanned from Jan. 2023 through last month, showing that the children were repeatedly subjected to harmful and neglectful conditions over a lengthy period. The home where the family lived was described in the affidavit as very dirty, with animal f-ces on floors and beds. One child said that when he first went to the guardian’s home, his face was covered in f-ces, including cat and dog waste.
The woman’s children also described episodes where she would call them “worthIess” and verbally abuse them, with the combined emotional and physical harm leaving lasting effects, according to written statements included in the affidavits. One of the teens recalled thinking to himself, “I hope he doesn’t shoot me because I have a long life to go,” in reference to their mom spouse’s threats.
In addition to allegedly locking the children and shooting BB guns at them, the couple is accused of refusing to feed or properly house the children, giving them drugs and alcohol, and holding organized events referred to by police as “fight nights,” where the children were allegedly forced to fight one another during a birthday party.
The couple’s bond hearings are scheduled for January 20, 2026, and they remain in custody with no bond. Child welfare officials and law enforcement said they are continuing to ensure the safety and care of the children involved, and the investigation remains open as prosecutors and social services work together on the case.
