Four, Including 16-Year-Old Girl, Arrested After Teen Family Member Is Hospitalized Weighing Just 70 Pounds

According to the Story County Sheriff's Office, 44-year-old Gary Graham Jr., 42-year-old Danielle Graham, 20-year-old Aaron Williams and a 16-year-old female -- whose name TooFab isn't publishing as she's a minor -- have all been charged with kidnapping and willful injury following an "extensive investigation."

Per SCSO, their deputies responded to a local hospital on January 27, 2024, following a report of an adult male patient "with signs of severe traumatic injuries and malnutrition." Per authorities, both Danielle and Aaron brought the teen to the hospital, with medical staff reporting the patient "arrived conscious but not alert and unresponsive to stimulus."

"An extensive investigation revealed the victim, an adult male who resided in Zearing, had suffered severe and life-threatening injuries from abuse, including a brain bleed, rib fractures, wounds in multiple stages of healing, and weighing 70 pounds due to severe malnourishment," said the sheriff, who alleged "all family members in his household had knowledge of and participated in the abuse."

The alleged abuse included restraining the victim "by handcuffing his wrists and ankles to his bed while physically abusing him," with authorities believing the abuse "escalated in early November 2023, resulting in a grave long-term injury."

According to a search warrant in the case, via WHO 13, Danielle told investigators the teen left the family home after turning 18 last November. She claimed to have no contact with him and believed he was unhoused until he returned home on January 26 in "a semi-conscious state, having difficulty breathing, and being unable to speak."

The sergeant investigating the case, however, found her version of events "highly suspicious" for a number of reasons. Authorities questioned how the teen would have returned home if he was unable to "stand, walk or talk" and wondered why Danielle never told family or friends about him leaving home. They also cited the lack of "cold weather injuries" to his body to support her homeless claims and found "no evidence at all" to suggest someone dropped him off at their home on the 26th.

Additional evidence found on the family members' phones also painted a more sinister picture.

One video from December 2, 2023 -- when Danielle said the teen was no longer at home -- allegedly appeared to show him in his bedroom with tape around his wrists, while a bunk bed in the background had L-bolts with handcuffs and shackles attached to them.

Per the probable cause affidavit, via PEOPLE, some of the text messages included messages like, "Hit him again and tell him to stop giving you dirty looks," and "Don't hit him in the nuts anymore at [least] wait [until] swollen goes down."

The AP, also citing the affidavit, said the teenager told investigators both Graham Jr. and Williams abused him and claimed he was handcuffed to the bed at night and sometimes during the day as well. Per a guidance counselor, the 18-year-old also was also doing his schooling online, but asked the counselor to ask his mother if he could attend in-person. The victim told the counselor not to say it was his idea.

The victim is now out of the hospital but "still recovering and will be for quite some time," Story County Sheriff’s Capt. Nicholas Lennie said.

"It's tragic. It has our whole area in shock, and rightly so," he continued. "It's not a common thing for one human being to treat another this way, let alone a family member. Sadly, the victim in this case endured months of abuse and being restrained in what most of us consider our safe place — our homes."

A preliminary hearing in the case has been set for March 29; the arrested parties are barred from contacting the victim.