2 people charged after teen shows up at Kansas City hospital nearly dead

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two people are in jail, accused of child abuse, and a 17-year-old is hospitalized in Kansas City after nearly dying.

“It was torture, it was abuse. My nephew was about to die,” said Dee Porter, the boy’s aunt.

His body is covered in bruises, cuts, scars and his face is almost unrecognizable. This teenager is now engaged in the fight of his life.

His aunt shares the gripping details of how this teenager was finally freed from what he had endured.

Doctors told Porter it was the worst case of child abuse they had ever seen.

The images are graphic, the stories of what happened are difficult to hear.

The teenager is bound and tied, whipped and beaten now under a ventilator, while his family desperately hopes he will pull through.

One of the accused admitted to investigators that the abuse had been going on for at least six months.

“If people saw my nephew in person, you'd have to be inhumane not to cry, just seeing his body, it didn't look like someone who's alive,” Porter said.

James Griffin and Penny Woods are now charged with child abuse or neglect causing serious emotional or physical injury.

These crimes allegedly took place at his Raytown home.

In a probable cause statement obtained by FOX4, investigators detail what the 17-year-old endured.

He showed up at the hospital Friday, his body covered in cuts, bruises and abrasions.

One of his ears was almost swollen from an infection, he was missing almost all of his teeth, doctors noticed that the teenager had an altered mental state, he was malnourished, suffered from hypothermia, a fracture of the spine, second degree burns. his forehead and fluid had accumulated in his lungs.

He showed signs that he had been restrained at some point, and his shoulder blades were in such bad shape that doctors told police they had only seen this in cases of severe trauma, such as an accident. car at high speed.

“You watch the news and you see this is happening to out-of-towners in these other cities and you're like man, this wouldn't happen in Kansas City and it actually happened to our family. I just think of those two criminals, they are disgusting, despicable people,” Porter said.

Now, Woods and Griffin had taken custody of the teen and his sister due to their mother's addiction.

Both are due back in court for a bond hearing on June 12. The prosecutor's office says other charges are possible.

As for this teenager, his birthday is next week, he will be 18 years old. He has gradually reached the milestone since his arrival at the hospital on Friday. On Monday, he spoke his first words. As for her sister, she is with her aunt and doing her best.