Mother and her boyfriend forced her three children to eat bugs and leaves, organized “fight nights” between them, and shot the kids with an air rifle while locked in a pen; charged

Missouri – In a disturbing case out of Missouri, a mother, identified as C. Hayford, and her boyfriend, identified as J. Menees, now face a long list of serious criminal charges after police say they subjected the woman’s three children to a string of horrifying abuse and neglect. The couple was taken into custody and are being held without bond after police executed a search warrant at their home and discovered the three victims in distress.

Hayford has been charged with two counts of kidnapping, one count of se-ual abuse, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of abuse or neglect of a child, and two counts of domestic assault. Menees faces two counts of kidnapping, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of abuse or neglect of a child, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, and three counts of domestic assault.

Prosecutors said the couple inflicted years of horrific behavior on the children, including locking them in a “chicken pen” and shooting them with an air rifle loaded with BBs, forcing them to “eat bugs, leaves,” and organizing twisted “fight nights” where the youths were made to fight each other. The case first came to light in December 2025, when local authorities launched an investigation after an adult guardian stepped forward with alarming claims. According to probable cause affidavits, the guardian said Hayford’s children, aged 13, 14, and 17, “walked into her house” over the summer and “were begging for food.” The guardian estimated they had walked about four miles to reach her home. The affidavits say Hayford offered to trade her children to the guardian in exchange for a phone and phone plan worth about $231, or roughly $77 per child.

Hayford allegedly “signed power of attorney” over to the guardian, and the children moved into the guardian’s home in July 2025 while still seeing Hayford and Menees. The phone plan was reportedly paid from July through December of that year. When the guardian took the children to a doctor, they were described as severely underweight, and the doctor noted they had never been enrolled in school or educated — the guardian said the kids could not read or write.

Once police began interviewing the children, shocking accounts of abuse emerged. The 17-year-old reportedly told investigators she was once forced to “cut her hands and spread blood on the trees” near their home. When the guardian confronted Hayford about it, the mother allegedly said it was “because of something going on with the animals.” Another incident detailed in the affidavits involved Hayford forcing her child to “eat caulking.” The same affidavit also included a disturbing account of Hayford grabbing the teen “on the breast area” while telling her, “I made it so I can grab it.”

Police say all three children were repeatedly locked in a “chicken pen” and shot with an air rifle by the couple. During one incident, investigators allege Menees “screwed the pen shut” and shot at the terrified children. The abuse extended far beyond that. Officers say Menees once pointed a real gun at the 14-year-old and told him he was going to “blow his brains out.” On another occasion, he allegedly “almost suffocated him” by putting him “in a headlock.” The same boy reported that Menees would punch and slap him regularly while Hayford called him “worthless” and routinely cussed at him. The 13-year-old likewise reported threats from Menees with a firearm, saying to investigators, “I hope he doesn’t shoot me because I have a long life to go.”

The emotional toll on the children was just as serious as the physical harm. The 14-year-old described going through what he called a “great depression,” during which time he “ate bugs, leaves, and would steal food” simply to survive. The same child told police he was forced to use drugs and drink alcohol by both Menees and his mother. For what the couple considered “entertainment,” they allegedly held “fight nights” where the children were forced to fight one another. Hayford and Menees are scheduled to appear in court on January 20 as their case proceeds. For now, both remain in custody without bond as authorities continue their investigation and prepare for prosecution.