In Clinton, Missouri, a 4-year-old boy was found close to death after years of severe abuse and starvation.
His parents, Patricia L. Siercks, 34, and Joshua J. Gusman, 32, are now behind bars and charged with child abuse.
A 4-year-old boy was found close to death after starvation by his parents
Image credits: Henry County Jail
On June 17, 2025, the child was taken to Golden Valley Memorial Hospital.
Highlights
- A 4-year-old boy in Missouri suffered severe starvation and abuse, weighing only 23 pounds and nearing fatal organ failure.
- The boy was diagnosed with refeeding syndrome, acute torture, long-term starvation, dehydration, and stunted growth.
- Both parents were arrested and charged with child abuse; if convicted, they face up to 25 years in prison.
Hospital staff quickly noticed his dangerously low weight and multiple injuries.
The boy weighed only 23 pounds, less than one pound more than he did at the age of 2.
Doctors said he was days away from fatal organ failure.
He was also diagnosed with refeeding syndrome, a life-threatening condition that occurs when food is reintroduced too quickly to someone who has been severely malnourished.
The police reported in an affidavit that this syndrome can affect multiple organ systems, including the heart, and lead to multi-system organ failure and even death.
The boy had bruises on his face and body and was unable to speak.
When police interviewed the mother, she blamed the boy's condition on him being a “picky eater.”
When Siercks was asked about the boy's emaciated condition, she said he had no deficiencies.
Image credits: American Hospital Association
She said she had spent $400 on food but claimed the boy refused to eat.
Later, the child’s father spoke of a much more grim reality.
Siercks admitted that she had slapped and punched the child during a doctor's visit when he “threw a fit.” She admitted that she “slapped and punched [him] in the face.”
“Siercks used her right hand and slapped across the left side of the victim’s face and then using her right hand punched the left side of the victim's face in the temple/eye area,” detectives wrote.
She also admitted to stopping the use of PediaSure, a nutritional drink that had helped the boy gain 6.8 pounds, because it was “all he wanted.”
After she stopped giving it to him, he lost nearly all the weight he had gained.
On June 30, Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City admitted the boy again due to his continued poor condition.
Social workers contacted the police, who launched a deeper investigation.
The boy was diagnosed with “acute childhood torture, long-term starvation, imbalanced electrolytes due to dehydration, and stunted growth," per NBC affiliate KSHB.
Police arrested both parents in early July.
Siercks was charged on July 1 with two counts of child abuse. Gusman was arrested the next day and charged with child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.
The couple remains in custody at the Henry County Jail. Both are being held without bond.
The child weighed one pound more than he did at the age of 2
Image credits: Henry County Jail
Gusman at first denied any abuse but later admitted to police “seeing the victim placed in a dog crate while the family ate dinner and was not provided any food.”
This abuse had been going on since the boy was 2 years old.
He admitted he would sometimes hear a commotion in another room and would find Siercks “assaulting” their son.
He claimed to have intervened at times.
Court records show that the child’s weight had barely increased over two and a half years.
According to growth charts, he should have weighed about 44 pounds at his age. Instead, he was just over half that weight.
If convicted, Siercks could face up to 22 years in prison. Gusman faces up to 25 years.
Just in the past two months in Missouri, a missing 4-year-old boy was found dead in a pond in Belton, and another child, Zaydian Dopirak, was killed after the courts ignored his foster family’s warnings and returned him to his father.
These tragedies have reignited urgent questions about child welfare oversight and state accountability.
This disturbing case is a reminder that child abuse can happen silently and over long periods. Authorities urge anyone who suspects a child is being abused to speak up.
Help is available through the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or www.childhelp.org. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911.