The girl and her three siblings were taken out of the home. (Representational Image: Unsplash)
An 8-year-old girl in Arnoldsburg, West Virginia, USA who was allegedly starved by her parents jumped out of a first-floor window holding her teddy bear and begged for food at a nearby shop.
The girl’s parents, Ryan Keith Hardman and Ellio M Hardman were charged with neglect of a child. The 8-year-old girl told the store staff that her parents refused to feed her and that hadn’t eaten in several days. She also told the employees that she was unwanted.
“The little girl, she came through the store, just walked up to us … And said, ‘I’m hungry. My mom and dad don’t want me any more. Do you have anything I can eat?,'” said Kelly Hutchinson, a Family Dollar employee told WOWK.
The girl shared that she had eaten a sandwich that had been given to her by a sibling three days earlier, according to the criminal complaint.
“Me having kids of my own, it just broke my heart her saying she was hungry and haven’t eaten,” said another employee, Sandra Knicley told the media outlet. “No little girl should ever feel like she’s not wanted. No kid, for that matter.”
The store staff provided her with snacks while they called the police.
The starving girl told the officers that she was forced to jump out the second-story window because her parents did not let her come downstairs. She also revealed that her parents would often punish her by locking her in her room for up to a week without food.
The girl and her three siblings were taken out of the home. The parents are currently in custody on a cash-only bond of $100,000.
During the search of the home, the police found, “food in the cupboards, food pantry, refrigerator and freezer for the entire family,” and none of it looked to be expired. They also found drug paraphernalia.
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