MONROE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — A couple has now been charged with murder in the death of a 12-year-old boy, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
Eduardo Posso, 12, died last week. Medical examiners found signs of abuse and starvation related to the child’s death.
MCSO says 32-year-old Luis Posso, the child’s father, and 25-year-old Dayana Flores, Luis’ wife, were charged with multiple counts of felony neglect last week after the child died.
They have both now been charged with murder.
The coroner said the boy was severely malnourished with zero percent body fat.
Deputies that searched the motel room where the family was staying found restraints and a K-9 shock collar. Video was recovered from cell phones shows the child being restrained in a bathtub.
“I cannot think of, in 30 years, a case like this,” said Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain. “It’s beyond anything I’ve worked.”
Authorities in Monroe County said Flores is a Mexican national and she has an ICE detainer. The couple were circus promoters working out of Florida.
The two were working as promoters for Cirque Italia, a Florida based circus, according to WFLA.
An initial hearing for the pair is scheduled for later Friday. They are both being held at the Monroe County Correctional Center without bond.
Three other children with Posso and Flores – a 9-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old – have been placed in child protection services. Deputies say those three children do appear to be healthy.
(Photo provided by the Monroe Co. Sheriff.)
