Records: Officials knew of Anderson teen's maltreatment since 2010

State officials knew an Anderson girl was malnourished at least four years before she was rushed to the hospital weighing less than 40 pounds, records obtained by The Star show.

The 16-year-old's grandfather, Steve Sells; his wife, Joetta; and their daughter, Crystal, are accused of repeatedly abusing and neglecting her.

Documents obtained this week by The Star show people had expressed concern for the teen's welfare multiple times before December, when she was rushed to the hospital in dire health.

Four years earlier, in 2010, someone contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services to report the girl, then 11, appeared to be "very malnourished," had a large bruise on her cheek and wasn't attending school, according to a DCS record dated Sept. 21, 2010. The girl, whom police said has mental and physical disabilities, was described as "skeletal."

DCS officials investigated the allegation and determined that Steve and Joetta Sells, who had custody of the girl, had neglected her. They told the family they would be opening a case "due to serious medical concerns," DCS records show.

DCS officials said Steve Sells became "extremely hostile," leaving the room twice during the conversation because he was so angry. Joetta Sells told officials that she and her husband would cooperate.

Over the next month, the Sellses took the girl to the doctor several times and also met with a dietitian, DCS records show. DCS officials filed a request to dismiss the case on Nov. 8, 2010, "due to the investigation being closed and finding no evidence," according to Madison Circuit Court records.

Less than a year later, DCS officials received a report that Steve and Joetta Sells were locking the girl in her room for days without food or the ability to use the bathroom. The source claimed the girl was "literally skin and bones," went to the bathroom in her bedroom and had eaten her own feces, according to a DCS complaint dated Oct. 8, 2011.

The source also claimed the home was filthy and that domestic violence had happened in front of children, DCS records state.

A DCS family case manager interviewed the family, the girl and other children living in the home. Steve and Joetta Sells said they locked the girl in her room so that "she couldn't get out to hurt herself," records show. Joetta Sells said the girl had bruises because she "falls down a lot from missing a chromosome."

The couple, the girl and other people living in the home denied seeing violence or maltreatment.

DCS officials contacted an area hospital, where a doctor and social worker said they hadn't seen the girl enough to determine whether the Sellses' were able to care for their granddaughter. The social worker said the doctor would call DCS if he had any concerns.

The agency closed its investigation on Nov. 9, 2011, citing a lack of evidence.

Three years later, in December, the teen was rushed to the hospital unconscious and "foaming at the mouth," DCS records state. She weighed less than 40 pounds. Dried feces was caked under her fingernails and toenails.

Anderson police later said the teen had been starved, savagely beaten, forced to eat feces and urine, and trapped in a locked room with little more than a mattress, space heater and bucket. She had fleas and bedsores along her spine, DCS records state.

Investigators found her room covered in feces with blood on the floor.

DCS records indicate the next week of the teen's life was a struggle to survive.

But there were acts of kindness in the face of tragedy.

Vases of flowers, balloons, a stuffed animal moose and a small, table-top Christmas tree were delivered to her room. A nurse painted the teen's toenails. A family case manager talked to the girl and painted her fingernails pink.

She was improving and taken off the ventilator in December. Police said they don't have an update on the teen's condition.

The Sellses and their daughter, Crystal, face a slew of charges in the case, including neglect of a dependent, battery and criminal confinement.

Crystal Sells has a court hearing on March 16, Madison Circuit Court records show. Steve and Joetta Sells are scheduled to stand trial in June.

Call Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.

How to report abuse

Report suspected child abuse or neglect by calling the DCS hotline at (800) 800-5556.