‘One of the worst cases’: Parents accused of locking up, beating and starving children, police say

O’FALLON, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) — A mother and father in Missouri are in jail after authorities said they beat, starved and locked up their three children.

Police in O’Fallon are calling it “one of the worst child abuse cases they have seen.”

Officials said Amberly Britton and Mark Myers were taken into custody after a months-long investigation that began when one of their children showed up at school with a significant cut.

When police attempted to contact the parents, they said they received no response. Investigators then visited the home with Social Services.

According to court documents, investigators searched the home and found kitchen cabinets and a refrigerator secured with locks. They said the three children were denied regular access to food and were forced to break the locks to find food to eat.

The rest of the conditions inside the home were also dangerous and unsanitary, according to police. There was no bedding on the mattresses, clutter everywhere and a strong smell of urine inside the home. The house also lacked heat, and officials determined it to be uninhabitable.

Investigators said they learned the children were told to never share what happened in the home with anyone.

A 13-year-old allegedly told investigators they had experienced pain and vomiting from severe hunger before being punished.

The children told investigators they were regularly beaten with objects and locked in their bedrooms, sometimes overnight.

Investigators said locks requiring a fingerprint to open were found on each bedroom door, and the children were left to take care of themselves.

Mindy Davis is a neighbor who lives near the trailer home investigators searched.

“That just blows my mind,” she said. “I didn’t even know that was going on. I couldn’t believe that would happen.”

Davis said one child was out playing in the dark late one night, and she made him go home.

Police said a large amount of methamphetamine was also found in the house. Both Britton and Myers blamed the children and showed no remorse, according to investigators. The parents said the children “lie,” investigators said.

According to court records, Britton has prior guilty convictions on five counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Court records show Myers has prior convictions for statutory rape, failure to register as a sex offender and possession of a controlled substance.

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