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1 year ago
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Two boys aged seven and nine were left locked in a windowless and feces covered bedroom by their mom and her boyfriend, according to a police report.
Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, were both arrested after the boys smashed a window on their home on July 13 and escaped naked and bedraggled.
Officers described the inside of the Milwaukee home as 'the worst they've ever seen', according to a police report seen by The Messenger.
The 72-page police report said officers entered the home to find a terrible odor, stacks of garbage, and insects crawling around.
Officers also noted how the bedroom that the boys had been held inside had feces on the floor and 'all over the walls' and boarded up windows.
According to a new report the bedroom inside the home, seen here, that the boys had been held inside had feces on the floor and 'all over the walls' and boarded up windows
Katie Koch, left, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, right, were both arrested after the boys smashed a window on their home on July 13
The report also detailed how police believe the two spent much of their time in their bedroom which had boarded up windows and a latch attached outside the door.
'There was what appeared to feces on the floor and all over the walls. I entered the living room and observed a terrible hoarding situation - it was hard to see the floor,' officers said.
'The smell of urine and feces stained the air within the residence', the officer added.
According to the report, officers noted seeing a 'mound of trash and garbage' next to their bedroom door.
'The door was opened halfway, and a greater amount of the stench of urine and feces seemed to get worse as I approached the children's room,' the officer recalled,' the officer recalled.
While the majority of the home was left in a state of decay and squalor, officers said a basement that was used as a man cave by Manke was better maintained.
'[It was] treated in a higher amount of respect and cleanliness compared to the children's living conditions in their bedroom,' one officer wrote.
The police report also included a summary of a jailhouse call Manke made to his parents, where his mother reportedly told him that she was 'in shock' after walking into the house that night.
Images taken of the property after their arrest show the children's boarded up windows could still be seen draped with feces-clad curtains featuring the popular children's animation Paw Patrol.
The boarded up window's of the children's bedroom had paw patrol curtains covered in mold and feces
Koch claimed she boarded up her children's windows so they wouldn't bother their 'nosey neighbor'
One witness said the little boys acted like 'cavemen who had never seen the sun' as they roamed the street.
Investigators said the boys appeared to have been living in squalor for years as they were not toilet trained and had not had a haircut or seen a doctor since 2019.
During a police interview, Manke said he knew the living conditions were not good for the children, but he had to 'pick his battles' with Koch to avoid arguments.
Koch was filmed looking upset in a subsequent court hearing as a prosecutor outlined the abuse and neglect she is accused of inflicting on her children.
Police who responded to a 911 call from nearby residents in the lakeside east Wisconsin city said the house was so crammed with belongings that the floor was not visible, describing it as a 'terrible hoarding situation'.
Neighbors first spotted her children - whose hair was matted by feces - peering through a shattered window on July 13.
They said the boys climbed through the window onto an air conditioning unit before jumping into the yard and walking down the street stark naked.
A resident on the street, Christine Eder, said the children looked like 'they had never been outside.'
'They were just walking different. Their hair looked like it had never been brushed, never been cut. They didn't know the outside existed,' Eder said.
Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, are seen in a photo posted to Instagram. Koch frequently shared images depicting a happy family life, while in reality her sons were imprisoned and lived in squalor
The family in 2020 is shown playing in the snow
Neighbor Christine Eder said the children looked like 'they had never been outside' following their escape
Earlier this year the pair appeared in court with Koch having cash bail set at $30,000, which officials have said she is not able to pay. Manke's cash bail was set at $6,500 and it is unclear if he has paid it.
If convicted of all the charges, they each face prison terms of up to 43 years, and fines of up to $120,000.
Koch could be sentenced to an additional $20,000 in fines and 18 months in prison for the two misdemeanor counts.
Manke and Koch are scheduled for a court appearance at the end of November and have pled not guilty.
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