A Utah couple was arrested this week after a police investigation uncovered hideous abuse of their children.
Darren Justin Berriel, aged 35, is facing seven charges of aggravated child abuse, while Rachelle Southwick, aged 32, has been charged with one count of the same offense, as reported by KSL.
According to an affidavit, the couple’s children were taken from the home and interviewed by investigators last month, though the affidavit did not specify how many there were or their ages.
“It was revealed that one child saw Rachelle stomp on another sibling’s arm, injuring it. The observing child noted their sibling was ‘crying bloody murder,’” stated a police booking affidavit. “A child also reported that Rachelle bit them on the back with her teeth, causing them to bleed.”
Southwick also reportedly stabbed a child with a screwdriver, while one child told investigators about the time Berriel was “punching them in the face, knocking a tooth loose, and knocking them unconscious, stomping on their back causing pain, locking them in a room for days without food or bathroom usage.”
“The child reported having to urinate on the floor of the locked room,” the affidavit said.
“Additional reports of Darren hitting their face and neck with a belt, suffocating a child with a pillow, and being beaten with a black pole on their legs, causing tiger stripe marks on their lower extremities, were also documented,” the report said. “The child also reported being treated like a dog, being put in a kennel and having to eat dog food.”
Medical reports showed that one child was missing a tooth, with another chipped. The child said Berriel caused the injuries “with pliers,” the report says.
Police removed “several evidentiary items, including two screwdrivers with blood on them,” while executing a search warrant on Wednesday.
Officers also reported finding a room that locks from the outside with the carpet removed. A “distinct odor of urine” was noted in the room, according to KTVK.
The station said Berriel and Southwick both denied intentionally harming the children, saying all the injuries the children suffered were caused by accidents.
Berriel and Southwick were ordered held without bond.
