Calif. Couple and Their Daughter, 23, Charged with Torture After Allegedly Strangling and Withholding Food from 6 Foster Children

A couple and their daughter were charged with torture in the alleged physical, emotional and mental abuse of six foster children they cared for, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said in a Wednesday, May 14, news release. 

Kenneth Michael Key, 60, Tina Marie Sheffield Key, 60, and their daughter Kaitlynn Marresa Key, 23, were arrested Monday, May 12. 

They were each charged with six felony counts of torture and one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death. Prosecutors are also alleging a special allegation of personal infliction of great bodily injury, per the news release.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Crimes Against Children Unit and Loma Linda University Medical Center Children’s Assessment Center investigated after authorities received a tip from a caller to a child abuse hotline on Feb. 13, per the felony complaint obtained by PEOPLE. The children were immediately removed from the home that month, San Bernardino sheriff’s spokesperson Mara Rodriguez said, per ABC News.

It was alleged that the three adults subjected all six foster children, who were between the ages of 4 and 16, to years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse. “The abuse included daily beatings, strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, and punishments of withholding food and water from the children for a period of days,” the news release said.

A neighbor of the Key family, Jose Martinez, told ABC7 that he was shocked to learn of the allegations against his neighbors. 

“I never heard any bad noises,” Martinez said. “I would take out their trash, and see the cans were full of snacks, so I can’t believe they didn’t have any food or being denied clothing or stuff like that, because they were pretty normal.”

“Nothing was suspicious at all,” he added. “The kids would come out, I would give them popsicles and they would never mention anything to me.”

Martinez said that after the children were removed from the home, Tina told Martinez that she and the other two family members were being investigated for alleged child abuse.

“Tina was very in shock, she was emotional that they took the kids away,” he said. “They denied everything. I mean, I never seen any problems. I’ve always seen the kids out here playing. It’s a lonely neighborhood, so they kept to themselves, to be honest.”

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The three defendants are each being held on $1,000,000 bail. Their arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, May 15, via video at the Rancho Cucamonga Superior Courthouse.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact Detective Katie Merrill of the sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division, Crimes Against Children Detail at (909) 890-4904. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or leave information on the We-Tip website at wetip.com.

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If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.