ZARRING, Iowa (TCD) — A 44-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman pleaded not guilty this week to kidnapping and abusing an 18-year-old boy who was taken to hospital unconscious.
Story County records show Danielle Graham and Gary Graham entered pleas to charges of first-degree kidnapping and intentional wounding causing serious injury. Danielle Graham's trial is scheduled to begin June 18. The other two suspects in the case, Aaron Williams and Kaitlynn Williams, have both pleaded not guilty to the same charges.
Deputies responded to a local hospital on Jan. 27 after Danielle Graham and Aaron Williams brought in an adult male victim who was showing “signs of severe traumatic injuries and malnutrition,” according to the Story County Sheriff's Office. . He was reportedly not alert and unresponsive to stimuli.
Doctors determined the victim suffered serious, life-threatening injuries, including brain hemorrhage and broken ribs, due to suspected abuse. The victim's wounds were in various stages of healing. The sheriff's office said the victim weighed 70 pounds.
Investigators say Gary Graham, Danielle Graham, Aaron Williams and Kaitlynn Williams “knew about and participated in the abuse,” which allegedly involved handcuffing the victim to the bed and causing injuries. “I did it,” he claims. The sheriff's office said the abuse “escalated in early November 2023.”
Deputies arrested all four in March. Danielle Graham, Gary Graham and Aaron Williams are being held on $1 million bonds. Caitlin Williams was admitted to a juvenile facility because she was 16 years old.
The victim was identified as Danielle Graham's son, according to court documents cited by WHO-TV. She claimed the victim left when he turned 18 in November 2023, but she reportedly did not tell anyone that her son had left home and she thought he might be homeless.
Danielle Graham claimed her son returned home on January 26 and knocked on her door. Her other son, Aaron Williams, responded and reportedly saw the victim “semi-conscious, having trouble breathing and unable to speak.” She said she and Aaron Williams took him to the hospital for treatment.
In the affidavit, the detective called Danielle Graham's timeline “highly questionable given the severity of her injuries and the fact that they did not all occur at once.”
The detective also said he “cannot explain” how the victim arrived at the home and knocked on the door while unable to stand, walk or speak.
The affidavit reportedly states, “The victim attempted to demand that he attend school in person without his parents' knowledge. There were no cold weather injuries to support the mother's claim that she was homeless.”
WHO reported that investigators found photos and videos of the man allegedly handcuffed to a bed with his wrists taped. One of the videos was recorded in December 2023, although Danielle Graham claimed her son left a month ago. Gary Graham and Kaitlynn Williams also allegedly sent text messages to Aaron Williams telling him to abuse the victim.
The Associated Press reported that investigators claimed the suspects knew they had harmed the victim, who was “intentionally tortured.”
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