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By Christian Jennings - bio | email
November 24, 2008
THOMASVILLE, GA (WALB) - A bizarre story of child abuse in Thomasville.
Investigators say a woman lied about being pregnant with twins... Faked their deaths... and even put on a funeral for the twins.
She and her husband are also charged with locking their 10-year-old son in a small wooden box for punishment.
Leslie and Christopher Wilfred live with their 5 young children, in a house at 308 Academy Drive.On Friday they were both arrested on a total of 6 counts of cruelty to children.
Investigators say Leslie Wilfred had everyone fooled when she announced a few months ago she was pregnant with twins. When she hit 22 weeks she claimed she gave birth early, and the babies were stillborn.
On November 13th, she held a funeral service, with fake sonograms and all at Rose City Pentecostal Church for the deceased twins. Only, the twins never existed.
"She's been charged with 5 counts of cruelty to children. It comes from the mental aspect, mentally abusing the children. She had talked to her children about having these babies, and really built it up," says Captain John Richards with the Thomas County Sheriff's Office.
The children were traumatized, but the family abuse goes even further.
"We discovered a wooden box that had been constructed in the bottom of a closet where they would, on occasion, put one of their children in for behavioral purposes," says Capt. Richards.
Investigators say the box is about 2x2 square feet.
"It had a pillow in there and blankets in there, and there was writing on the walls inside the box that he had written in anger toward his parents," says Capt. Richards.
Christopher Wilfred was released on bond. Leslie Wilfred was denied bond and is still in jail.
Investigators are still working this case that they say even shocked them. Feedback
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