They Lived with Grandma After Dad's Murder. She Allegedly Beat, Drugged and Locked Them in a Dog Cage: Affidavit

Authorities in Oklahoma have removed two children from their grandmother’s custody after investigating allegations of child abuse.

Davena Marx, 54, is accused of drugging her 10-year-old grandson with the antipsychotic medication Seroquel and locking both him and his 8-year-old sister in dog cages while she was out of the house, according to a spokesperson for the Warr Acres Police Department.

The two children had been living with their grandmother ever since their father was murdered in a road rage incident back in 2022, according to a 2024 petition filed by their late father’s estate in Oklahoma County Probate Court and obtained by PEOPLE.

A spokesperson for the WAPD tells PEOPLE that officers were called in to assist workers with the Oklahoma Department of Health and Human Services as they investigated allegations of possible child abuse on March 13, 2024, at the apartment complex where Marx and the children were living at the time.

The DHS caseworker told police that while they were at the apartment, the young girl used her cell phone to write out, “SHE IS MEAN TO US SHE IS VERY ABUSIVE,” which she then showed to the caseworker, according to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

She then directed the attention of the DHS caseworker to a “camera that was located on the bedside table of the room” the affidavit said, at which point the young girl was taken outside to be interviewed by investigators.

Once outside, the young girl allegedly said, “Memaw sells drugs and uses them,” “She makes us stay in the dog cage when she wants to go outside by herself,” and that she and her brother were given Seroquel “that is not prescribed,” according to the affidavit.

The affidavit goes on to say that the young girl allegedly said that her grandmother “has hit her with a belt” and “will step on their toes with her heels and grind her heel into their toes.” During a subsequent interview, the young girl also said that her grandmother allegedly makes her bring pills “to her friend after wrapping them in a paper towel,” according to the affidavit.

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A neighbor also spoke with the caseworker and allegedly said that she had “observed the victims eating out of the dumpster,” “seen both children locked in a dog cage,” and once heard Marx tell her granddaughter that she is the reason “her dad went to prison,” according to the affidavit.

That neighbor also allegedly told the DHS caseworker that she had purchased Xanax from Marx in the past.

That initial joint investigation resulted in both children being removed from the home and placed into state custody, according to the WAPD spokesperson.

Drug tests were also performed on both children, and the boy tested positive for Seroquel metabolites, according to the affidavit.

Now, a little over two years after that initial investigation, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna has filed formal charges against Marx.

An information sheet filed by Behenna and obtained by PEOPLE states that Marx is charged with four counts of child abuse following allegations that she: hit her granddaughter with a belt, gave her grandchildren Seroquel, locked her grandchildren in dog cages and made her grandchildren “jump up and down for an extended period of time as a form of punishment.”

Marx is also charged with one count of child neglect for “failing to protect [her grandchildren] for exposure of illegal activity.”

An arrest warrant was issued for Marx on May 23, but she does not appear on the list of inmates at the Oklahoma County Detention Center and an employee at the facility was also unable to find any record of her being booked into custody in the past month.

Marx has not yet entered a plea to the charges against her and does not have a lawyer listed on her docket at this time.

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.