Tennessee Investigators Allege Couple Locked Up Nonverbal 7-Year-Old Autistic Child in Storage Trunk

Officers were looking into adult abuse allegations in Tennessee when they learned a man and woman allegedly locked a nonverbal child in a storage trunk in an unsanitary home, law enforcement officials said.

On Aug. 7, an investigation was launched after officials discovered 39-year-old Sean Moody allegedly abused his developmentally disabled sister, for whom he served as a caregiver, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).

On Aug. 15, the TBI obtained an arrest warrant and Moody was charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult.

That same day, deputies from the Carter County Sheriff’s Office worked with the TBI to execute a search warrant at the Elizabethton home of Sean Moody and 36-year-old Mikki Moody, authorities said.

Investigators said they determined a 7-year-old autistic and nonverbal child lived in the home.

According to the Carter County Sheriff’s Office, investigator Preston White called the living conditions of the residence “unsanitary.”

White said “multiple electrical wall outlets contained exposed wiring” and there was animal and human feces on the floor.

Investigators also found a brown-colored storage trunk in the living room of the residence, which contained urine-soaked blankets, a pillow, half-eaten pizza and clothes with blood on them, according to officials.

Investigators believe Mikki and Sean Moody allegedly would lock the child in the storage trunk with food.

Officials did not specify the suspects’ relationship with the juvenile victim.

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Mikki and Sean Moody were arrested and each charged with aggravated child abuse, neglect, and child endangerment, officials said. This is in addition to the adult abuse charge Sean Moody was already facing.

Both were booked into the Carter County Detention Center. Mikki was released after posting a $75,000 bond, and Sean Moody remains in custody, authorities said.