Parents starved children, forced boys to exercise: court documents

The parents of an 11-year-old Florida boy who weighed about 36 pounds are accused of starving him, forcing him to exercise and making him “stand in his room all day,” court documents say.

Brandon Palmere and his wife, Shantel PalmerThey were both arrested Thursday, March 5, on charges of child neglect with great bodily injury for allegedly abusing their 11-year-old son, one of their four children, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.

People who view court records US Weekly It was not indicated Tuesday, March 10, whether Brandon, 40, or Chantel, 38, have retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

Brandon serves as second lieutenant United States Air Forceaccording to pensacola news magazineReports say he is stationed at Duke Field, the 3rd Auxiliary Airfield at Eglin Air Force Base in Okaloosa County.

Authorities began investigating Brandon and Chantelle, who live in Milton, after their 11-year-old son was treated at the hospital for “severe caloric malnutrition,” according to an arrest report obtained by police. us.

In a December interview, the boy told investigators that he had three sisters, ages 5, 6 and 11, who “behaved better than him,” the arrest report said.

The boy described how he “spent a lot of time in his room,” was often confined to an apartment upstairs in his home, and was forced by his parents to exercise “until his legs and arms hurt,” the report said.

The 11-year-old also detailed that he was not allowed in the food pantry, where his sisters had “anytime access to snacks,” the report said.

One of his sisters told investigators during a forensic interview that her brother “had to stay in his room,” which had “a camera, a bed, a blue table and a toy,” according to the arrest report.

The sister told investigators that his bed was without sheets, quilts and pillows because “he had been doing some things recently, like stealing, lying and pointing fingers,” the arrest report said.

She also noted that her brother was forced to climb the mountain “all night long” and was not allowed a second meal because “he might have eaten too much,” according to the arrest report. The girl said, however, that she and her sisters could get a second meal, the arrest report said.

The arrest report states that another of the boy’s sisters told investigators that he “was being punished and had to stand in his room all day” and that there was “a door in the upstairs hallway” so he “couldn’t get out.”

The sister said her brother “had to do push-ups and leg crawls” and that he was “not allowed to sit” in his room “otherwise their mother would get mad,” according to the documents. She also said her brother “ate stale bread for breakfast and rice and beans but not lunch or dinner” and that “she and her sisters could eat more food.”

According to the arrest report, the girl told investigators that her parents monitored her brother through a camera in their bedroom to make sure he was on his feet. Her parents would hit him if they saw “he was sitting or lying down when he should be standing,” the arrest report said.

The boy said in an interview that he was being homeschooled after being expelled from school for “misbehavior,” the report said.

The arrest report states that a teacher at the boy’s previous school was interviewed by law enforcement and reported that she had previously alerted the Department of Children and Families because the boy was frequently hungry and “stealing food” at school.

The Department of Children and Families notified law enforcement of the boy’s malnutrition after he was hospitalized in December, the arrest report said.

Doctors ultimately determined the boy’s “underweight” condition was due to “deficient nutrition/improper feeding,” according to authorities.

Court records show Brandon and Chantel are scheduled to be arraigned on April 2.

Milton is located in the Florida Panhandle, about a 110-mile drive northwest of Panama City Beach.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, please call or text Children’s Helpline Phone: 1-800-422-4453.