A Denver judge postponed pleas submitted by a couple who allegedly starved their four children and housed them in a decrepit, grimy apartment on Friday.
66-year-old Wayne Sperling and 35-year-old Lorinda Bailey will not enter pleas to charges of child abuse until next week, the judge ruled without reason given for the postponement. The announcement was made after a short discussion between the judge and attorneys that was not made public for the press.
Sperling and Bailey's four sons were taken out of their parent's home almost two months ago, the Associated Press reported. According to medical reports, examinations of the four boys, aged 2, 4, 5 and 6, showed they couldn't speak normally, and could only communicate in grunts. They were reportedly severely malnourished and did not use the toilet for defecation and urination. Authorities who saw the inside of the apartment described it as dingy, filthy-covered in cat excrement and flies.
As they exited the court room, Sperling and Bailey did not walk with one another. They moved silently, and their legal teams declined to comment. A spokesperson for the prosecution told the Associated Press that she was actively working to find out the reasoning behind the postponement.
Sperling and Bailey, both of whom face four counts of felony child abuse, are slated to enter their pleas on Thursday.
Social service officials and police started looking into the family when Bailey showed up at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital on Sept. 29 with her son, who had a gash on his forehead. She said that he got hurt after he fell down. A doctor in the emergency room told authorities that the child had not been washed and reeked of cigarette smoke. The doctor noticed bruising behind the child's right ear that appeared to be as a result of pinching. Denver Human Services performed a welfare check, and found the dirty apartment, littered with trash, along with four severely underfed children.
The children have been in the state's custody since then.
