A Griffin couple will spend decades behind bars for starving their 10-year-old son who prosecutors said weighed just 36 pounds when he was found wandering in their neighborhood in 2023.
Tyler and Krista Schindley pleaded guilty Thursday to all of the charges against them in the abuse case, including cruelty to children, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. Hours later, Griffin Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Benjamin D. Coker sentenced them each to 40 years in prison, followed by 20 years of probation.
Coker said he took into account that the couple had accepted responsibility through a plea, but that they should “be glad” he was not allowed to impose a sentence that was cruel and unusual.
“I’ve seen murders. I’ve seen child molestations, child pornography. I’ve even prosecuted a child’s death when the child was tortured,” Coker said, but he added: “I’ve never seen a human being do what you two did to another human being.”
During their probation, the couple cannot spend time around minors or have drugs or firearms.
On May 10, 2023, neighbors found the couple’s son wandering down a Griffin street, and the boy asked if he could get to the grocery store to buy some food, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Authorities said he then asked not to be sent home to his parents.
Instead, he was taken to a hospital for malnutrition and a low heart rate. He weighed half what a typical 10-year-old weighs, Spalding District Attorney Marie Broder said at the time.
The crimes took place over several years, according to arrest warrants. Tyler Schindley turned himself in at the Griffin Police Department, while Krista Schindley was arrested at the couple’s home.
Prosecutors said the Schindleys, who ran spas in Peachtree City and McDonough, had fostered and adopted five children.
Broder, in an interview after the sentencing, noted that prosecutors never offered any deals in this case because it was “just so egregious.”
“This was the most challenging case that both me and my co-counsel have seen, and we’ve both been child abuse prosecutors for many, many years,” she said. “There were so many people that tried to sound the alarm.”
Rock Spring Elementary School counselor Sophia Gutierrez worked with the boy at the center of the tragic case from kindergarten to first grade. She told the court Thursday that he was always hungry at school. Gutierrez said she spoke with Krista Schindley about her concerns, and she stated the boy was “being forced on her.”
“I emailed the case worker and said, ‘Please do not allow them to adopt him. I don’t think they love him,’” Gutierrez said.
With school officials worried and issuing warnings, Broder said the family eventually pulled the child out once COVID-19 hit in 2020. He was homeschooled after that.
Prosecutors argued that the couple didn’t want the child. Channel 2 Action News reported his parents only took him in because he was the older brother of two sets of twins they did want.
The couple have older children from previous relationships. The younger children were placed into the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
The judge ended Thursday’s proceedings by showing pictures of the child during the height of his abuse compared to now to show how much he has improved.
This month marks two years since the boy was rescued. Assistant to the District Attorney Keely Haynie said he has recovered and is living in an undisclosed location in foster care.
“Just know that where he’s at, he is thriving now,” Haynie told the AJC.
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