Couple Allegedly Restrained Six-Year-Old With Duct Tape And Beat Him To Death
Fox 9 is reporting that Bobbie Bishop, 40, and Walter Wynhoff, 44, are facing felony charges of first-degree manslaughter, second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, and a solitary count of malicious punishment.
An unconscious Justis Rae Burland was brought to a hospital on Monday, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. According to a criminal report, hospital staffers tried to resuscitate the six-year-old boy, before he was declared dead.
The report revealed that doctors were worried about the disturbing appearance of Justis Rae Burland because he had multiple injuries and infected wounds consistent with physical abuse. He also carried strap marks that suggested he had been severely beaten.
A nurse would later tell investigators that the unresponsive six-year-old boy was also wearing a soiled diaper when he arrived at the hospital.
The child and his sibling had been living with Bobbie Bishop and Walter Wynhoff for less than a year and were not in school, the Daily Mail is reporting.
The news story is claiming that their legal guardian is resident in Montana.
A post-mortem examination of young Justis Rae Burland’s body unearthed horrifying details.
According to the medical examiner, he was covered with injuries, literally from head to toe. These injuries included scratches, cuts, and sores. The examiner also revealed that the young boy’s hair was patchy; suggesting that portions of his hair had been forcefully pulled out.
Bobbie Bishop and Walter Wynhoff are being held on murder charges, after six-year-old Justis Burland was brought to the hospital Monday unresponsive, wearing a soiled diaper. Doctors were unable to revive the boy. https://t.co/dpyChLdzuD
— KUMV-TV (@kumv_tv) April 12, 2018
Detectives noticed marks on Justis’ upper body that were two to three inches in width. Investigators would later learn that they were duct tape marks, Bishop allegedly used to pin the six-year-old boy against a wall.
Doctors say that at the time of death, Justis’ multiple injuries remained largely untreated and had been infected by flesh-eating bacteria.
They also noticed that the skin on his buttocks had sloughed off, attributing it to being scalded with hot water.
Bobbie Bishop and Walter Wynhoff admitted to using extreme measures to discipline the child. Bishop told police that she had “beat his a**” over 20 times in the past month, adding that his other sibling had been lashed with a belt, seven times.
The 40-year-old woman told police that she knew she was hitting Justis too hard and that he needed medical attention. However, her excuse for denying him medical attention was that she did not want authorities to take him away.
Bishop also told investigators that she had asked Wynhoff to also help discipline the boy.
Water burns, soiled diaper, restrained to the wall with duct tape. Newly released court documents paint a house of horrors in Fergus Falls, where 6 year old Justis Rae Burland was beaten and bound before he died.https://t.co/arqeZDj2PU @ValleyNewsLive
— Christine Stanwood (@cstanwoodnews) April 11, 2018
According to her, one time, the 44-year-old man slapped the boy so hard that he lost a tooth. Bishop said he had also beaten him with a one-by-one inch board.
Detectives later discovered the two pieces of wood with results coming back positive for blood.
Bishop and Wynhoff said the two children were violent and did strange things at the residence. Wynhoff claimed the six-year-old boy wore a diaper because he was soiling himself on purpose.
The 44-year-old also claimed that on one occasion, Justis sat in his own feces for over an hour.
Twin Cities is reporting that Bishop took the six-year-old to the hospital on Monday morning when she discovered he was not breathing.
Bishop and Wynhoff are being held at the Otter Tail County Jail and face a maximum sentence of 40 years if they are convicted of murder.
