A Utah father and his girlfriend have been jailed after being accused of starving a five-year-old girl so severely that she resorted to eating her own feces and other non-food items such as Play-Doh. Prosecutors say the case reflects prolonged and deliberate torture.
David Fivas, 32, and Jessica Harmes, 44, are charged with child torture, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office. A probable cause affidavit details how West Valley City police began investigating on August 30 after Fivas brought the child to a hospital.
He reportedly told medical staff the girl was “not gaining weight and would eat her own feces.” Fivas said he had custody of the girl since she was about 15 months old and that her position on the growth chart had “steadily decreased.”
Doctors found that the five-year-old weighed roughly the same as a healthy sixteen-month-old. After more than two weeks of regular meals in the hospital, she gained nearly nine pounds, according to the affidavit. Fivas told police the girl would eat until she vomited and consumed non-food items like wax and Play-Doh.
He claimed she “stole” food from the refrigerator and pantry, leading him and Harmes to install child locks. Investigators say both adults were intentionally withholding food. Fivas admitted he “resented” the girl and did not treat her well. Another child living in the home appeared to be well fed.
Detectives wrote in the affidavit that the child’s health had been declining for at least two years. “The defendants, angry that the victim was ‘stealing food’ that they were depriving her of, went a step further and put child safety locks on every cabinet and appliance that had food,” they wrote.
Officers believe the girl was not overeating but attempting to survive by consuming whatever she could find when the adults were asleep. “A common late-stage manifestation of starvation is the ability to overcome revulsion and eat non-food in an attempt to sustain themselves, and that eating feces is likely due to starvation,” investigators noted, as per Law and Crime.
Police say Fivas and Harmes tried to frame the situation as overeating to hide the abuse. When Harmes became pregnant, Fivas attempted to surrender the child to child services, saying he no longer wanted her. The agency reportedly declined because she was not considered abandoned.
The affidavit also states the girl was forced to sleep on the floor with only a blanket, was not enrolled in school, and appeared to be isolated. Another child in the home confirmed many of the allegations.
During Fivas’s bond hearing on Thursday, prosecutors argued he should remain behind bars. “This is intentionally harming this particular child,” the prosecutor said. Judge Richard W. Daynes agreed, ruling that Fivas posed a danger to the community.
Both Fivas and Harmes remain in jail without bond. Their children are now in state custody. Fivas is scheduled to appear in court again on November 24.