A 2-year-old boy in Tell City, Indiana, died of severe malnutrition after authorities say he was so starved by his caregivers that he consumed drywall, paint chips, and pieces of his own diapers in a desperate attempt to survive.
Trevor Reichard-Hayes, 39, and Katherine Carter, 31, were arrested on Apr. 3, 2026, and charged with murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, and neglect of a dependent.
Both are currently held at the Perry County Detention Center. Reichard-Hayes is scheduled to appear in court on May 28, and Carter has a hearing set for May 14.
The boy, identified as Erik Reichard, was found unresponsive on Mar. 31 after Reichard-Hayes called 911 at around 1:19 p.m. to report that Carter had found the child not breathing and brought him downstairs, according to ABC6.
First responders performed CPR on the living room floor, but Erik was pronounced dead at the scene. A detective on the scene noted the child's blue and pale complexion, limpness, and a jaw clenched from rigor mortis, indicating he had been dead for several hours before the call was made.
Reichard-Hayes and Carter both told authorities that the last time they had seen Erik alive was 11 p.m. the previous evening — approximately 14 hours before the 911 call was placed. Neither guardian could explain why the child had been left unsupervised for that period.
An autopsy determined that Erik weighed only 15 pounds at the time of his death — roughly half the expected weight of approximately 30 pounds for a child his age and height.
His colon was enlarged and contained a white substance consistent with drywall, paint chips, or spackling, along with a gel-like material matching the interior of diapers. The autopsy found no evidence of physical trauma.
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Carter admitted to investigators that Erik had been eating his diapers, and she had previously contacted poison control over concerns about the child ingesting gel-like diaper material, People reported.
Police suspected the behavior was driven by extreme hunger resulting from prolonged malnourishment. Erik also had more than 40 sores or insect bites covering his body at the time of his death.
Officers described the living conditions inside the home as "very poor." Children's bedrooms had feces on the floor, insects throughout, drywall debris, paint chips, and soiled diaper pieces scattered around.
A training toilet in one bedroom was filled with human waste that had not been cleaned in days or possibly weeks, and a doorknob in another bedroom had been reversed to allow the parents to lock a child inside.
A stark contrast was noted between the children's areas and the adults' space: investigators found that the parents' own bedroom had clean bedding, was neatly made, and was free of clutter, unlike the rest of the home.
The Indiana Department of Child Services removed two other children from the residence. One of the siblings, a six-month-old infant, was transported to Norton's Children's Hospital in Louisville due to severe malnutrition and dehydration. Both children remain in state custody for safety and medical recovery.
Perry County Prosecutor Samantha Hurst stated, "The living conditions that he was confined to are not what you would want a child to be exposed to."
Tell City Police Chief Derrick Lawalin described it as "a case that's beyond what we see often here in our community," adding that many of the officers who responded are parents themselves. The investigation involved multiple agencies, including the Perry County Coroner's Office and the Indiana Department of Child Services, as per Law and Crime.
