Grandfather charged in starving of 7-year-old boy

PITTSBURGH — The grandfather of a boy who Pennsylvania authorities say was starved nearly to death, appeared in court on Tuesday to face 14 charges including aggravated assault, false imprisonment and attempted first-degree murder.

Dennis Beighley, his wife Deana Beighley and step-daughter Mary Rader, have been charged with participating in torturing and nearly killing Rader’s 7-year-old son in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

The boy was starved, beaten and his family only allowed him to bathe in ice water, according to the criminal complaint, which said he was not allowed out of the house except for the back porch, where he would catch bugs and eat them.

The child was pulled out of school in August 2013 and weighed less than 25 pounds (11 kg) when he was rescued in June after authorities were tipped by neighbors.

School officials said that before the boy was removed from Hempfield Elementary School, his mother sent a note to the school asking her son not be fed breakfast.

Connie Timashenka, who was principal of Hempfield Elementary School at the time, said when she found out about what the boy endured she felt “sickness and a feeling of disbelief.”

Investigators interviewed the boy’s two normal-weight sisters, ages 11 and 4, and determined that the boy had been singled out for abuse, according to the complaint. A 9-year-old brother also was underweight but not as severely, it said.

Dennis Beighley appeared before judge Robert Yeatts at the Mercer County Courthouse wearing an orange jumpsuit and hand and leg shackles.

Rader and Deanna Beighley waived their right to appear at their arraignment today.

The boy and his siblings are currently in foster care, according to the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office.