Things That Force Me to Question My Opposition to the Death Penalty
Case of kids kicked out of home shocks prosecutor
MARSHFIELD, Mo. — A mother and her live-in boyfriend are charged with child endangerment after investigators say they kicked her two kids out of the house. The investigation began after a passerby found a 12-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister walking along Highway CC near Niangua.
The kids were dragging suitcases, shopping bags and garbage bags full of clothing. They were about a quarter of a mile from their home, scared, crying and hungry.
“Thank the good Lord this was someone that wasn’t going to hurt children,” said Webster County Prosecuting Attorney Cynthia Black, praising the man who picked up the kids.
Police say the children said their mom, Roxanna Osborne, woke them up and told them to pack and leave immediately. The kids say their mother gave them $5 and went back to sleep.
“The children also told deputies that their mom and her boyfriend used drugs in their home. They described in shocking detail the pipes and drugs they used,” said Black. “They also referred to some spoons with burn spots on them, and spoons with burn spots typically refer to meth use.”
A detective’s probable cause statement filed with the charge also outlines accusations of abuse. The kids told officers they were burned with cigarettes, hit with belts and verbally abused. The kids also said they are afraid that, if their mother and her boyfriend get sent to jail, she will kill them.
Osborne and Timmy Young face two charges each of child endangerment. The prosecutor thinks what the mother did is unbelievable.
“We see lots of nasty things and we expect to see nasty things, but this is one of the ugliest things and one of the saddest things because a 6-year-old and a 12-year-old were so very, very upset and distraught,” said Black.
The kids are physically fine and are now in the custody of a relative but Black said they are obviously traumatized. Officers arrested Osborne and Young at their home.
This is the second time in a little more than a year that Young has been charged with child endangerment. He was arrested and pleaded guilty in May 2004 for using a chainsaw to smash the windows of a van belonging to the woman who was then his girlfriend — while her three children were inside.
Osborne and Young are jailed in lieu of $200,000 bond each. They are scheduled to be in court next Wednesday.
Black said she likely will file more charges against both in Webster County. In addition, evidence in Young’s case has been handed over to the U.S. attorney’s office for possible federal charges.
