Three relatives charged after boy found locked in dog kennel where he said he’d lived since April

Neighbours told police they brought the child food and warm clothes

The father, stepmother and step-aunt of a boy who had been locked in a dog kennel were arrested and charged with felony child abuse in North Carolina, according to police.

Law enforcement officials found a 9-year-old boy locked in a dog kennel outside his home in North Carolina. The boy reportedly told authorities he had been staying in the kennel since April because he did not have a room at the house that his father and stepmother shared.

According to WGHP, warrants obtained from the search suggest others residing in the area knew about the boy’s living situation.

Police found the boy when they responded to an anonymous 911 call on 19 October reporting the child’s condition. The woman who called said she and her husband had taken the child food in the past.

When authorities arrived at the house, they found the cage with the boy inside. The previous night, temperatures had dropped below freezing, and frost was still on the ground when officers arrived.

The boy said he’d been living outside since the previous spring, police said in the warrant.

Police found a woman standing near the home’s back door holding a small child when they arrived. She walked back into the home and turned off the lights, according to the warrant, after which police forced their way into the home and detained her. The woman was Sarah Starr, the boy’s stepmother.

Ms Starr told police that only her aunt, Shelley Barnes, knew the combination to the lock on the cage the child had been living inside. The warrant revealed that Ms Starr was holding an 8-month-old baby and that a 4-year-old child was hiding under the woman’s bed. Both children were taken from the home by emergency medical workers.

Shelley Barnes, the step-aunt of a 9-year-old boy who was kept in a dog kennel outside his home, was arrested and charged with felony child abuse (Davidson County Sheriff’s Department)

The woman told police she and her husband — the boy’s father — knew the boy was living in the cage and that they were "upset about it."

She told police that she had two other children, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old, who were at school at the time the police searched the property.

A neighbour on a four-wheeler arrived at the home and told the police he saw the boy in the cage around 10.30pm. The man said he brought the child a coat and snacks for the night, the warrant states.

All of the family’s children were taken into custody by the Department of Social Services, and were reportedly in good health.

The boy’s father, Jonathan Starr, along with Ms Starr, were charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious physical injury, misdemeanour child abuse and false imprisonment.

Ms Barnes was charged with all of the above as well as possession of a firearm by a felon. Records show Ms Barnes was convicted of identity theft in 2004.