Indiana parents arrested for abuse after zip-tying 10-year-old son, telling sibling to beat him up

An Indiana couple is accused of inflicting “nutritional” neglect on their 10-year-old son, zip-tying him and covering his head with a towel so he could not watch TV and telling his siblings to beat him up.

Melody Rose Greenwood, 38, and Adam Jon Greenwood, 36, each face preliminary charges for neglect of a dependent.

The abuse was uncovered when the “extremely skinny” child was taken to Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital for an exam that revealed “nutritional” neglect and child abuse, Muncie Police said, according to the Muncie Star Press.

The suspected abuse was reported to the police.

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The Indiana Department of Child Services, which is also probing the abuse allegations, spoke to the victim’s seven siblings, who explained that the 10-year-old was only fed canned food like beans, tomatoes and soup, while everyone else had “normal meals such as cheeseburgers and fast food,” the Muncie Star Press reported.

The boy was forced to stand against a wall for up to 12 hours a day with a towel sometimes placed over his head to prevent him from watching TV.

He said his siblings were told to “beat him up” if he spoke or stepped away from the wall.

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The child also said his mother had used zip ties to restrain him, and the boy reported being in pain due to the zip ties being extremely tight. He said his mother had zip-tied his hands behind his back one night while preparing for bed and that he had been instructed to leave them on for the rest of the night.

An officer said “scars and marks on his wrists” appeared “consistent with restraints.”

Two of the older siblings were allegedly the primary source of education for the other children, and the homeschooling was reportedly limited to reading three chapters of a book per day while the parents were at work.

Melody Greenwood was preliminary charged with three counts of neglect of a dependent and booked into the Delaware County Jail. She was released on a $15,000 bond. Adam Jon Greenwood was preliminary charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent and was released on a $10,000 bond.

Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman’s office will determine whether formal charges will be filed against the couple.