Indiana Father and Stepmother Charged After 9-Year-Old Found Starved, Beaten in Frankfort Home

Jacob Aaron Neal and Elizabeth Lynn Crow face felony neglect charges after a 9-year-old boy was found severely malnourished and injured in their Frankfort, Indiana home.

Indiana Couple Charged After 9-Year-Old Found Near Death From Starvation and Abuse

A Frankfort, Indiana father and his wife face felony charges after his 9-year-old son was found severely malnourished and bearing multiple serious injuries, Law & Crime reports. Jacob Aaron Neal, 31, and Elizabeth Lynn Crow, 27, were taken into custody Thursday and each charged with one count of felony neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.

The investigation began Aug. 26, 2026, when Indiana University Health Frankfort Hospital contacted the Frankfort Police Department about a child presenting with suspicious injuries consistent with abuse. The boy appeared severely malnourished and had extensive bruising and multiple bone fractures.

Given the critical nature of his condition, the child was transferred to Riley Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. He was admitted in critical condition but has since been upgraded to stable, police said. The Indiana Department of Child Services removed several other children from Neal and Crow's home; all were found to be in good health.

51 Pounds and Visible Ribs

Court documents obtained by Indianapolis FOX affiliate WXIN paint a stark picture of the boy's physical state. He weighed just 51 pounds, with his ribs clearly visible due to malnourishment. He wore size 4 diapers and was described as unaware when he soiled himself.

Doctors documented bruising to the face and head, fractured ribs, spinal compression fractures, open wounds on his hands, gastrointestinal bleeding, a fungal lung infection, broken teeth, and bedsores. Police said their investigation determined that the defendants used starvation as a disciplinary measure against the child.

Conflicting Explanations

When asked about the boy's injuries, Neal and Crow offered different accounts. Neal reportedly told doctors the child had fallen while climbing a bookshelf. Crow told them he had fallen from a swing at a park roughly a week earlier. Doctors informed police they found neither explanation credible given the severity and variety of the injuries.

During interviews with investigators, Neal claimed the children in the home were given food whenever they were hungry. When investigators asked Crow when the boy had last been happy and healthy, she replied, according to court documents cited by Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR: "It's not like he's been like this for a week or anything. This is just the past couple days and not even this bad."

Investigators also recovered text messages between Neal and Crow discussing the boy's food and punishment. Several of those messages were published by both WTHR and WXIN.

Bond Revoked for Crow

Frankfort Police Chief Scott Shoemaker described the case as "heartbreaking."

Both Neal and Crow pleaded not guilty at their initial hearings Friday. A judge revoked Crow's bond, as she was already released on bond in a separate child-neglect case. Neal's bond was set at $40,000. The pair are scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 12.

Source: Law & Crime