Tennessee couple are arrested for child abuse after locking their son, 15, in basement for four years, keeping two kids in cages and burying their abused daughter in a barn
- Michael Anthony Gray Sr., 63, and his wife, Shirley Ann Gray, 60, were arrested Monday on several charges of aggravated child abuse Monday
- Three days earlier, the Roane County Sheriff's Office responded to a call from a concerned couple who said they have found a 10-year-old boy alone
- Deputies escorted him back to the Grays’ home, where they discovered a boy locked in a basement and the remains of their daughter buried in the backyard
- Investigators determined the teen had been confined to the basement since 2016, with no contact with anyone outside of it until officials found him Friday
- The couple's other two children had also spent time confined to a wire dog cage
- The 63-year-old also revealed a small concrete room built under the stairs where two of the children had been kept for punishment
- The rest of the house was stated to be filled with a strong urine smell, with human and animal feces spread throughout the home, on the walls and in a bed
- The surviving children, ages 10 to 15, who are not theirs biologically, were removed from the couple's custody by the state
A Tennessee couple’s abuse case describes a hellish existence for four children under their legal custody – a nightmare finally brought to an end last week after a lost little boy was spotted walking alone down a road in Roane County.
Michael Anthony Gray Sr., 63, and his wife, Shirley Ann Gray, 60, were arrested Monday on several charges of aggravated child abuse, including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated child neglect and abuse of a corpse.
Three days earlier, the Roane County Sheriff's Office responded to a call from a concerned couple who said they have found a 10-year-old boy roaming the streets alone. Deputies were able to determine the boy’s name and escorted him back to the Grays’ home.
Neither Michael nor Shirley were said to have been aware the child was missing. The boy was then taken to the Department of Children’s Services office in Kingston where he told investigators there was another child, around 15-years-old, locked in the basement, and another deceased child buried in the backyard.
The boy said he and another child had also spent time confined to a wire dog cage.
Michael Anthony Gray Sr., 63, was arraigned on several counts of aggravated child abuse and aggravated kidnapping, in addition to three counts aggravated child neglect and abuse of a corpse
Shirley Ann Gray, 60, faces eight charges: two counts of Especially Aggravated Kidnapping; two counts of Aggravated Child Abuse; three counts of Aggravated Child Neglect and a single charge Abuse of a Corpse
Detectives responded to the home and interviewed Michael who reportedly admitted to burying his daughter near a pole barn on the property after she died in 2017, aged 10 or 11.
The couple’s young daughter was said to be confined to a basement for months before her death, surviving on nothing more than bread and water.
During the same interview, authorities say the disgraced father admitted to locking his 15-year-old son in the home’s partially-flooded basement for stealing fruit from the fridge shortly after the family moved to the home in June 2016.
Investigators determined the teen had been confined to the basement ever since, with no contact with anyone outside of it until officials removed him on May 22, 2020. The officers who liberated the teen said he was surrounded by feces, garbage and mold.
Much like his sister, the boy was also only given small amounts of food, including bread and water. The parents reportedly admitted to withholding food from the children at times as a means of punishment.
During the search of the home, officials said Michael Anthony Gray showed investigators where the girl died and where her body had been kept in a cardboard box before she was buried. Her skeletal remains were recovered on Saturday among a grave filled with deceased farm animals.
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An investigation was launched when one of the couple's children told investigators there was another child, around 15-years-old, locked in the basement, and another deceased child buried in the backyard
Detectives responded to the home and interviewed Michael who reportedly admitted to burying his daughter near a pole barn on the property after she died in 2017, aged 10 or 11
The 63-year-old also revealed a small concrete room built under the stairs where two of the children had been kept for punishment. The room allegedly had no running water and no electricity.
Police noted that a bucket had been placed inside the small room was filled with human feces and magazine pages that had been used as tissue. The rest of the house was stated to be filled with a strong urine smell, with human and animal feces spread throughout the home, on the walls and in a bed.
The home also had no running water and had exposed wires and discarded trash scattered throughout.
The surviving children, ages 10 to 15, were removed from Michael and Shirley’s custody by the state Department of Children's Services. They are not their biological children, the Attorney General's office said.
The warrants say Shirley admitted the children had not received medical or dental attention for at least six years prior to the investigation. All four children had been signed up for homeschooling.
The rest of the house was stated to be filled with a strong urine smell, with human and animal feces spread throughout the home, on the walls and in a bed. The home also had no running water and had exposed wires and discarded trash scattered throughout
A memorial for the girl who died a was placed in the home's backyard this week, close to where she was buried
Shirley Gray signed documents declaring that all the children were meeting their homeschooling requirements, however police say two of them ‘appear to have had no formal education,’ and ‘were, in fact, amazed by what a refrigerator does when they observed one in their foster home.’
Officials said all the children appeared to be stunted in growth and lacked the necessary education for their age.
Michael Anthony Gray was arraigned on several counts of aggravated child abuse and aggravated kidnapping, in addition to three counts aggravated child neglect and abuse of a corpse.
Shirley Gray also faces eight charges: two counts of Especially Aggravated Kidnapping; two counts of Aggravated Child Abuse; three counts of Aggravated Child Neglect and a single charge Abuse of a Corpse.
The Grays remained in custody on Wednesday. Officials said the suspects waived their right to counsel.
Roane County District Attorney General Russell Johnson said a Grand Jury hearing had been set in three weeks and said ‘there’s a lot more to come’ with regard to information on the case, WVLT reported.
