Photo: Milwaukee County Sheriff
A Wisconsin couple is behind bars, accused of imprisoning and neglecting two young children, ages seven and nine. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office said that deputies were dispatched to the home of Katie Koch, 34, and Joel Manke, 38, after neighbors saw their two kids running through the neighborhood naked.
Witnesses said that the kids jumped out of a broken window and started playing in the backyard before running down the road. One person told WDJT the kids "were acting like cavemen, like they had never seen the sun before."
Christine Eder, who lives across the street, told the news station the kids were acting like "they had never been outside before."
"They were just walking different. Their hair looked like it had never been brushed, never been cut. They didn't know the outside existed," she said.
When officers went inside, they found the two kids were living in horrific conditions. The two boys were confined to a bedroom, which had boarded-up windows and was locked from the outside. The house was filled with garbage and smelled like urine and feces.
"These children have been horribly damaged from their mother's actions. They are completely uneducated. They are not potty trained, even at their ages. They are, essentially at this point, unable to function in society," Milwaukee County assistant district attorney Mallory Davis said.
"It's really terrible. Like something out of a horror movie," Davis added.
Koch was charged with four felony counts and two misdemeanors relating to child abuse and false imprisonment. Manke was charged with felony counts related to child abuse and false imprisonment.