Overview
- Deputies responded on Sept. 16 to Little Tallapoosa Park after a camper reported three young children alone in a tent.
- Officers found the children, ages 2, 4 and 5, filthy and hungry, and the older two reportedly said they had not eaten in two days.
- Court and medical records cited by local outlets allege the 2-year-old with Down syndrome had a severed feeding and oxygen tube, untreated seizures and resulting brain injury.
- Jason and Kira Askea were arrested when they returned to the site and have been held without bail on first-degree cruelty to children charges.
- The children were taken to a hospital and are now in Georgia DFCS custody, and court filings indicate the family had been staying at the park after losing housing.