LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas couple faces child abuse charges after police said they found children who had been beaten and locked in dog kennels.
According to an arrest report, Amanda Stamper called police on Sunday and said she was hiding from her husband, Travis Doss, who threatened to kill her. When officers arrived, she told them she needed to go to their apartment because "there were children locked in a dog kennel." The report states that the couple is responsible for seven children under the age 12.
Officers arriving at the apartment saw two children locked in a dog kennel with a padlock on it, the report states. Bolt cutters were used to remove the padlocks and free the children.
One child left the kennel immediately, officers wrote, but the other could not walk without help and had multiple injuries, including "two black eyes that were swollen shut, multiple marks and bruises all over his body, and he was emaciated," the report states.
According to police, the child told officers he was in the kennel because he was in trouble for "being bad" by stealing food at night.
The child was taken to University Medical Center to be treated, where a doctor told police "he has not seen a child this severely beaten since his military tour in Afghanistan where he observed children who had been dipped in hot oil," the report states.
A nurse is said to have told police it was "the worst case of abuse she has seen in 13 years."
Stamper told officers she thought the child had "looked dead for the last five days," officers wrote.
In an interview with police, Stamper said she met her husband, Doss, in Atlanta six years ago, and they decided to move to Las Vegas so she could "prostitute for [him]," according to the report.
Stamper told police Doss was her "pimp," and she would post ads on various websites to meet men for dates, investigators stated.
She also claimed Doss had been violent toward her for the past three years, mainly due to arguments over money, according to the report. Investigators were told Doss would punch, kick, strangle and body slam her as well as throw objects at her. Stamper said he was taken to a hospital at least twice for injuries stemming from Doss, the report states.
As for the children, Stamper said Doss hit them with belts, extension cords, skillets, and his hands and feet, investigators noted. She told police one skillet "has dents in it from the children's heads."
In a separate interview with police, investigators say Doss admitted to hitting all the children except for the baby.
Doss' bail was set at $250,000 and Stamper's at $120,000 during their initial court appearances on Monday.
Doss is due back in court for sex trafficking charges on June 28 and murder and child abuse charges on June 29.
Stamper is expected back in court on June 29 for child abuse charges.
