Akemi Cox (L) and Valerio Garcia
An 8-year-old boy, W. (b. 2013), was starved, physically abused, and medically neglected by his mother, Akemi Cox, and her fiance Valerio Garcia. W. was homeschooled.
Cox had a social services history dating back to 2002; five of her children had previously been removed from her care. Garcia had a social services history dating back to 2006. The couple last took W. to the doctor in 2014 or 2015 when he was around 2 years old. Between that time and his rescue in February 2021, W. gained a total of seven pounds. Cox and Garcia beat W. with a belt and kept him on a strict meal plan. When he was rescued, he was still the size of a 2-year-old, his belly was distended, and his skin was sagging. W. attended virtual school which, according to journalists, prevented the abuse from being caught earlier.
The abuse came to light when a neighbor spotted W. “climbing in and out of his window at night, searching for food in a dumpster.” Cox and Garcia were charged with child neglect and W. gained 15 lbs. in two months while in foster care.
Date: February 2021
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma
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