A serial dating mother moved in with her abusive airman boyfriend after just two months, then joined up when he nearly tortured her seven-year-old son to death and defended him to investigators, prosecutors alleged.
Jared Reeves, 32, and Marie Collins, 29, have been arrested on suspicion of child battery, criminal abuse and false imprisonment charges, Airway Heights police said.
Collins told police that she and Reeves have been dating since April and that she and her son, who a doctor said had also been traumatized during previous relationships, moved in with Reeves in June, according to court documents.
Child Protective Services became involved after Sunset Elementary School’s counselor alerted authorities when the boy returned from winter break with unexplained facial injuries and significant weight loss.
The counselor reported that the boy was eating and drinking milk from the trash at school, police said.
Marie Collins, 29, (pictured) moved out with her allegedly abusive airman boyfriend after just two months, then joined in and he nearly tortured her seven-year-old son to death.
Police said 32-year-old Jared Reeves (pictured) told them he hit the boy with a ‘sex paddle’ and a belt.
Reeves and Collins appeared in Spokane County Superior Court on Thursday and are scheduled for arraignment on March 19.
The boy told a CPS caseworker that Reeves had tried to kill him and would strangle him to the point he couldn’t breathe, according to court documents.
A child abuse investigation was launched against the couple in January after the CPS caseworker took the boy to Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital due to bruising all over his body and extreme weight loss.
The boy has been “severely physically abused” and could be a victim of “possible torture,” a doctor wrote after examining the boy.
“You are in imminent danger if you return to your current living situation, you cannot sustain further injuries without suffering significant damage,” the doctor wrote.
“You need normal caloric intake over a sustained period of time to ensure you develop as normally as possible.”
The seven-year-old boy had experienced childhood trauma and repeated violent trauma throughout his life, the doctor said.
Child Protective Services became involved after the boy’s counselor at Sunset Elementary School (pictured) alerted authorities when the boy returned from winter break with unexplained injuries to his face and significant weight loss.
The couple is charged with suspicion of child assault, criminal abuse and false imprisonment.
The child’s “mental stability and cognitive ability” are important concerns, the doctor wrote.
Both Reeves and Collins admitted to hitting the boy, police said.
Collins told police she spanked her son, hit him with a metal spoon and forgot to feed him over a two-week period.
Collins also told investigators that she and Reeves forced the boy to undress and sleep in the bathtub without blankets or pillows for three weekends from December to January as punishment for bed-wetting.
The mother admitted to police to filming incidents of physical abuse perpetrated by her and Reeves on her phone.
Authorities also said Reeves also told them he had hit the boy with a ‘sex paddle’ and a belt, causing bruising to the boy’s genital area and buttocks.
He also confessed to choking the boy and lifting him by the neck to the point that his feet were off the ground, according to the documents.
Collins or Reeves allegedly forced the child to hold his hands above his head or in front of him for one to four hours at a time.
If he dropped his arms, he would have to start over or be hit with a belt, a metal spoon, their hands, or a hairbrush.
The boy could be heard crying and yelling, “My back hurts” in an audio file on Reeves’ phone, according to court documents.
Reeves and Collins appeared in Spokane County Superior Court on Thursday and are scheduled for arraignment on March 19.
The investigation is ongoing.