Sentenced: Pennsylvania Couple Neglected 6YO Who Weighed Only 20 Pounds

[Sugar Cookie]

Two people are locked up for allegedly starving a 6-year-old boy, whom police say weighed just 20 pounds.

Natalie Shaffer, 26, and her boyfriend Zachary Vincent, 30, of Mountain Top, are both charged with aggravated assault and endangerment.

This started in January of 2020 when school staff was met with a 20-pound 6-year-old boy at the beginning of the school year.

Teachers at the Greater Nanticoke Elementary Center realized there was an issue when the boy came to school severely malnourished.

Officers say it appeared the child was being purposefully starved and that Shaffer, the boy's mother, had failed to take the boy to more than 50 doctors' appointments and canceled more than 50 others. The boy spent a month in the hospital and is now in foster care in Luzerne County.

Newswatch 16 spoke with Matthew Levandowsky, the child's birth father, who says this would not have happened if Children and Youth Services was paying attention to the child after several complaints. Levandowsky is currently fighting for custody of the child and another who was in Shaffer's care.

The child's father tells us the child is still in foster care in Luzerne County right now and weighs close to 68 pounds now that he is no longer in the care of the mother.

Couple accused of neglect after 6-year-old boy found to weigh only 20 pounds

Authorities said the 6-year-old boy appeared to be starving. He weighed only 20 pounds.

www.khou.com

 

[Brillig]

Starve them both until they weigh a quarter of what they should.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

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[Busy Bee]

The child protective services should be held to a higher stAndard. Perhaps if the individual agent could be held accountable for not doing their job more children would be rescued. A 6 year old child weighing 20 pounds! My Grandson at 1 weighed 22pounds! He missing all of the Dr apts., don’t give the child back to them, next time they will starve him! They need to spend the next 30 years in the pen , give the boy a chance to grow up and not have him be worried about returning to them! They don’t deserve him!

 

[Inferus]

When you harm a child, you steal a piece of the future. Maybe a little less of living for the now, you cow.

 

[Sejanus]

Mrs Howell she ain't!

 

[MorbidCuriosity]

https://m.facebook.com/natalie.shaffer.90?fref=nf

You can tell by the lack of pictures of him and the presence of so many pictures of her girls she had a disdain for the poor baby boy. Terminate her parental rights and fry her tubes.

 

[baggy trousers]

sterilize them both. how disgraceful.

 

[BeerMan84]

Mrs Howell she ain't!

I'd still hit it

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Probably trying to hide how emaciated he was

The life long damage they may have done to this boy needs to be taken into account when they sentence these two animals.

According to the complaints filed by Luzerne County detectives, police began investigating the case in January 2020 after the starving child — who is Shaffer’s son and Vincent’s stepson — showed up at the Nanticoke school.

A witness told investigators that Shaffer had made comments about being “sick of taking care of this (expletive) kid” and that the couple kept the boy locked away from their other children, according to the complaint.

The boy would constantly ask for food and make comments such as “eat, eat,” according to police.

The child’s father told police he had repeatedly been asking Luzerne County Children and Youth Services to check on his children because of concerns about his son’s weight and was told that they would not get involved with custody orders, the complaint says.

During the time spent in his mother’s care, the boy did not attend school and spent most of his time at home, police said.

The charges describe the boy’s malnourishment as life threatening and potentially causing lasting effects upon his development.


During questioning, Shaffer told detectives that the boy had “been having some issues with his weight,” which she attributed to poor feeding habits by his father and to multiple health issues, including disruptive behavior, the complaint says.

However, the father told police Shaffer would not allow him to see the boy on a regular basis, and detectives say Vincent and Shaffer failed to bring the boy to 50 doctor appointments and had canceled another 52 visits during the time they had custody of the child.

Vincent and Shaffer are both charged with felony counts of aggravated assault. Vincent is additionally charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment, while Shaffer is also charged with child endangerment and reckless endangerment.

Police say they filed the charges Wednesday after learning that Children and Youth Services, which previously removed the boy from the home, placed the now-thriving child back into the custody of Vincent and Shaffer.

Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said he had no personal knowledge of the case and that, regardless, he could not comment due to state confidentiality laws.

“I can say that I have requested the County Division of Human Services to complete a full and comprehensive review of the extremely upsetting allegations made in this matter,” Pedri said. “I want to thank the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement for their hard work and I would assure them the full and complete cooperation of Luzerne County Children and Youth as the investigation proceeds.”

After denying the couple bail during an arraignment Thursday morning, Whittaker ordered the pair held at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility with a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 10.

Couple accused of starving 20-pound boy, 6

A Rice Twp. couple was arrested Thursday on charges alleging they starved a 6-year-old boy so severely that he weighed only 20 pounds when he appeared at Greater Nanticoke Area

www.citizensvoice.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

She hates this child but her hatred for the father of the boy is stronger.

His suffering must have felt like a lifetime and that is what this bio-donor and step-ddick deserve. They need to lose their children and wonder how they are being treated.

As parents we make mistakes and we fall short of being the best we can be -

But how can someone break the spirit of a child, torture them to the point where they could die and live with themselves.

These are just things that in my head I understand but my heart can't accept.

 

[GoneWest]

View attachment 48070
Probably trying to hide how emaciated he was

The life long damage they may have done to this boy needs to be taken into account when they sentence these two animals.

Couple accused of starving 20-pound boy, 6

A Rice Twp. couple was arrested Thursday on charges alleging they starved a 6-year-old boy so severely that he weighed only 20 pounds when he appeared at Greater Nanticoke Area

www.citizensvoice.com

How in holy fuck did Child Services give this boy back to those two monsters?!? Thank god for the police department and someone staying on their toes. This story could have ended very differently.

 

[Sue sue]

Zander?

 

[Busy Bee]

Did I read it correctly, child services removed the starving 20lb 6 year old child, placed him in hospital he gained weight (hmm, the eating issues the female claimed the boy had cleared up on their own) then they returned him to the people who starved him? These people should have to stay in pen til the boy grows up, that way no grave mistakes of custody can be made!

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Rice Twp. couple awaiting trial on assault charges alleging they severely starved a 6-year-old boy was arrested again Tuesday over new allegations that they housed their children in a filthy home.

Zachary Michael Vincent, 30, and his wife, Natalie M. Shaffer, 26, were charged with aggravated assault last month after police said the starving child — who is Shaffer's son and Vincent's stepson — showed up at Greater Nanticoke Area Elementary Center weighing only 20 pounds.

The new complaint alleges that when Luzerne County detectives showed up at their home to arrest them Feb. 3, they found four children living in squalor, one of whom was wearing a heavy, urine-soaked diaper.

The front door was blocked by furniture inside the home as well as mattresses that were being stored on the front porch, police said.

The living room featured a single queen-sized mattress that all six occupants slept on because the bedrooms were full of broken furniture, dog feces, strewn clothing litter and electronic equipment, according to the complaint.

The hallway leading to the bedrooms was blocked by bags, boxes and loose clothing, and the only bathroom was filthy, with a "considerable amount" of cigarette ashes dusting the floor, police said.

The kitchen likewise featured tools, garbage and food that was spread around the counters, sink and floor, according to the complaint.

After the discovery, the children were taken into protective custody, police said.

Detectives charged Vincent and Shaffer with four felony counts each of child endangerment.

Couple accused of starving boy charged with housing kids in squalor

Mar. 2—A Rice Twp. couple awaiting trial on assault charges alleging they severely starved a 6-year-old boy was arrested again Tuesday over new allegations that they housed their children in a filthy ...

www.yahoo.com

 

[Satanica]

That pair is hopeless, so just terminate their rights and put all the children in foster homes. There's nothing else that can be done when it's obvious they have no intention of making even a passing effort to pass the inspections.

We struggled to get my turning 8 today grand to 20 lbs by 1 year old. Her little ribs were prominent and it just broke my heart, so the idea of intentionally starving a 6-yr-old is just beyond comprehension. No wonder they lock them away where they can't see them.

 

[Busy Bee]

These two are just a special kind of wicked! To purposely starve a child, to hear that child say he’s hungry and to ignore that! Child service reps in that town need to be investigated, lax in their duties.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

 

[Scrappy too]

The child protective services should be held to a higher stAndard. Perhaps if the individual agent could be held accountable for not doing their job more children would be rescued. A 6 year old child weighing 20 pounds! My Grandson at 1 weighed 22pounds! He missing all of the Dr apts., don’t give the child back to them, next time they will starve him! They need to spend the next 30 years in the pen , give the boy a chance to grow up and not have him be worried about returning to them! They don’t deserve him!

Amen...my son was always in the 50th percentile as a toddler baby. At his one year well child visit he weighed 18 pounds. I remember this clearly, because we had a 21 pound cat and I said, "Well, I guess you're still not bigger than Tykie kitty..."

Shit, both of my kids probably weighed about 42-44 pounds when they arrived to kindergarten.

Poor baby. I hope he has a much better life now. I'll never get how a mother can hate her own child...something broken there.
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View attachment 49608

He sure is a sad and tired looking little baby. I pray his life will be filled with joy from this time forward...

 

[Sugar Cookie]

These two monsters could not break his spirit.

With love and the right interventions this little boy still has the chance to thrive.

I pray that he is given a guardian ad litem that makes sure this boy gets the protections and services he needs.

 

[McDanel]

Sadness and uncertainty, that's what I see in every picture. :'(

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A mother and her boyfriend were sentenced to years in state prison for neglecting her 6-year-old son, who weighed 20 pounds in January 2021, when officials at Greater Nanticoke Area School District notified authorities.

Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas called the criminal acts by Natalie M. Shaffer, 28, and Zachary Micheal Vincent, 33, "inhumane."

Shaffer reportedly complained, "she was sick of taking care of this (expletive) kid," and missed or canceled nearly 100 medical appointments, court records say.

Lupas sentenced Shaffer to five-to-12 years in prison and Vincent to four-to-12-years in prison on charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. Shaffer and Vincent pled guilty to the charges Feb. 10.

State Deputy Attorney General Angela Sperrazza said the boy had little to no body fat when the neglect was discovered. The boy has been able to gain and maintain weight, Sperrazza said.


Sperrazza said no reasonable parent would neglect their child as Shaffer had done, who she said ignored multiple attempts from physicians with offers to evaluate the boy.

Couple sentenced for 'inhumane' case of starving boy, endangering other children

Aug. 8—WILKES-BARRE — A mother and her boyfriend were sentenced to years in state prison for neglecting her 6-year-old son, who weighed 20 pounds in January 2021, when officials at Greater Nanticoke A...

news.yahoo.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

They each need to do the full 12 years.

The boy has probably been left with lifelong physical and emotional scars.

Wherever he is I hope he is love, spoiled and allowed to eat what ever he wants.