The room had no lights or electricity, police said, adding that the windows had been screwed shut and the windows shades duct-taped to the window frames. The coroner said that at the time of his death Max was 4-foot-2 and weighed 47 pounds – nowhere near the height, weight and stature of a normal 12-year-old boy. Graf said those children described to detectives the stench that emanated from Max’s room and how Schollenberger and Mauer refused to let the boy out of his room. One child remembered hearing Max scream and cry after Schollenberger and Mauer would enter Max’s room. Graf said authorities never suspected anything was wrong in the house or that anyone was being abused, the Patriot-News reported.

Source: Fox News September 14, 2020 20:37 UTC