RIVESVILLE, W.Va. – The Marion County Sheriff’s Department arrested two Rivesville parents after a child was found allegedly malnourished to the point where he didn’t “react to hunger.”
Cheyenne Hicks, 31, and Zachary Thornburg, 31, both of Rivesville, were charged with child neglect creating risk of injury after deputies were notified of a CPS referral on January 14 for a 15-month-old juvenile that was filed after they both failed to take the child to the hospital at the urging of a doctor.
According to deputies, Hicks and Thornburg allegedly brought the 15-month-old child to a medical check-up earlier that day, where doctors told them they needed to bring the child to the Children’s ER. Doctors called CPS later when the couple failed to take the child to the hospital.
An investigation of the Rivesville residence where the child was living with Hicks and Thornburg by police and CPS went to their residence, which they reportedly found in disarray with food containers, trash, and dirt throughout.
According to a criminal complaint, deputies found the child in a separate room where the crib was allegedly soaked with urine, the child’s clothes were wet, and he wore a soiled diaper. The child was allegedly found to be severely underweight and was covered in a rash.
EMS transported the child to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where a nurse found he weighed only 14 pounds and didn’t react to food or a bottle.
Hicks and Thornburg are currently in the North Central Regional Jail, both with bonds set at $30,000.