Teen Boy Dies In Closet While Mom Acts Normal

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]The lion's been a problem. Um, he's >> all teenaged down the stairs a couple of times, like just half the flight, >> and then later he came back to me, admitted he did it intentionally. But I've asked him, I'm like, "You're trying to hurt yourself?" He's like, "No, I just wanted to see what would happen."

[00:00:15]That's the way a lot of time he he wants to see what would happen if he does stuff.

[00:00:19]>> A teenage boy is dead, and the people calmly describing his torture are his own family. What you're about to hear sounds less like an interrogation and more like people discussing household chores after murdering a child.

[00:00:34]>> She asked you to handcuff your brother, pour hot sauce in his mouth. She asked you to pour hot sauce on his penis.

[00:00:41]Your mother asked you to do those things cuz she cares so much. She puts you in that spot and now you're right in the middle of an investigation in which your brother died. And before this interrogation was over, detectives would uncover one of the most disturbing family abuse cases they had ever seen.

[00:01:01]On July 6th, 2022, police arrived at a home near Marshall Road and East Hy Road to investigate what was initially reported as a suspicious death.

[00:01:13]>> Hello, ma'am.

[00:01:16]I'm Officer Stuffage.

[00:01:21]Right now we got some people coming over to talk to you. Okay.

[00:01:26]>> You have another son inside the house.

[00:01:27]>> I have two.

[00:01:30]>> Yeah.

[00:01:30]>> Are they sleeping still right now?

[00:01:32]>> One of them is. Yeah. The 20-year-old's awake.

[00:01:35]>> He's 20.

[00:01:36]>> No, the 20-year-old's awake.

[00:01:37]>> Okay.

[00:01:44]He's He's been wearing really loose clothes the last couple weeks.

[00:01:49]>> He's really skinny. He's really skinny and I didn't notice till this morning cuz he wouldn't like I asked him if he's okay and he would not answer me like he's 15. He's been He has autism.

[00:02:00]>> Yeah.

[00:02:00]>> Like a high functioning >> Yeah.

[00:02:06]I just I had no clue how bad it was.

[00:02:10]Oh my god. Like I said, he he did this back in my head stroke was January 3rd.

[00:02:17]>> Mhm. And so he did this back in I don't know, second week of January for almost three weeks and then he finally he ate some he ate something last night. I can't remember what it was now. I'm sorry.

[00:02:30]>> Ja appears emotional here. But whether that emotion is for 15-year-old Timothy, who has been found dead, or for the situation she now finds herself in is much harder to tell.

[00:02:43]>> I had no idea. I would have taken a bed or something.

[00:02:48]Now, you said the last time you saw him was 5:30 this morning.

[00:02:50]>> Yeah.

[00:02:51]>> Did he say anything?

[00:02:53]>> He had fallen out of bed >> at 5:30.

[00:02:56]>> Yeah.

[00:02:58]>> You sure it wasn't earlier?

[00:03:01]>> I mean, it's possible. I thought it was 5:30, but [laughter] I wasn't super awake. I heard a thump and I came down [laughter] and he's kind of laying on his side kind of like, "What the heck?" And um I picked I uh I I reached out. He [laughter] I'm sorry.

[00:03:20]>> That's all right.

[00:03:20]>> Sorry. Oh my god.

[00:03:24]Oh my god. Um yeah. And I reached out and he pulled himself up and I asked him if he's okay and I just asked if he hit his head. He said no. I think I hit my my my knees on my chest. I think he couldn't obviously he couldn't tell me how he felt. Um, oh my god, no. I don't know what to do. Oh my god.

[00:03:49]He said, "Okay."

[00:03:52]And then, >> do you know their family here in town?

[00:03:54]>> Well, and myself, but they're not answering.

[00:03:57]>> My My father-in-law's an attorney.

[00:03:59]>> Best thing to do is surround yourself with family.

[00:04:02]>> You get cuz you know, right now you're going through it by yourself and you >> you get overwhelmed. I have >> no idea. How could I have missed that?

[00:04:11]What happened inside this house was not normal punishment. Timothy was allegedly subjected to repeated and severe forms of abuse. That is just sickening to even consider.

[00:04:24]If this case has you hooked so far, you might want to subscribe. There are a lot more stories like this one on the channel. And with that, let's continue.

[00:04:36]>> You've been wearing baggy. I mean, he was wearing a hoodie for crying out loud, and I just didn't His face didn't look like that. What the heck?

[00:04:50]>> What's your first name, ma'am?

[00:04:51]>> Shondaanda. S H A N D A.

[00:04:55]>> And what's your what's your last name?

[00:04:57]Is that Ferguson also?

[00:04:58]>> No, it's Vander Arc. V A N D E R space capital A R K.

[00:05:03]No, that's why I made that's why I asked him to eat last night cuz his face started looking a little thick. I'm like, "Okay, enough." And he wouldn't show. I'm like, "Let me see. Hold your shirt up." And he wouldn't hold his shirt up. He wouldn't do anything.

[00:05:15]>> Did he get real skinny last time, too?

[00:05:17]>> Yes.

[00:05:19]The only reason I know is because my uh my seven-year-old walked in on him accidentally when he was in the shower downstairs, >> and then my seven-year-old comes up.

[00:05:25]He's like, "Mama, Tim is really skinny."

[00:05:27]I was like, "I >> was that this time or last time?"

[00:05:30]>> That was last time. That was like first week of February is when DC discovered that >> and I told him he was either gonna start eating every multiple times a day or I was taking him to the hospital and he didn't want to go to the hospital. So >> So he ended up eating on his own.

[00:05:46]>> Yes.

[00:05:48]>> Okay. And then so this this last time was it because your husband's in the >> wasn't home? Well, >> he hasn't been home since January 3rd, but he had a um he had a a grandma seizure. God, it's been 3 weeks ago now.

[00:06:02]It was right right after that. He was he actually mentioned he was hungry the day his stepdad or his dad and stepmom called to tell us they were divorced and moving to Florida last week.

[00:06:16]>> Where do they live?

[00:06:17]>> They they lived in Oklahoma, but they moved to outside of Jacksonville, Florida. And they're not answering their phone either.

[00:06:21]>> Okay.

[00:06:23]>> And that's his biological father.

[00:06:25]>> Yeah. Yeah. They moved up here with us last May because his dad couldn't handle him.

[00:06:30]And he's been great. I mean, >> last day like as in May of last year or this year?

[00:06:36]>> May of last year.

[00:06:37]>> Okay.

[00:06:38]>> May of last year.

[00:06:39]>> And he goes to school and everything. He was >> I've been homeschooling him online. Um because it's high functioning. Um it's he's just done better at it.

[00:06:48]>> Shondaanda doesn't seem to realize it yet, but detectives are going to dig through everything, including her phone.

[00:06:54]And that's where some of the most disturbing details are waiting. I can show you his grade report online. I've got all the it's online.

[00:07:02]>> Is he doing okay?

[00:07:04]>> Yeah, he was I mean he was failing math which is not unusual but he was passing everything else.

[00:07:10]>> What's his date of birth?

[00:07:12]>> 86 of 2006.

[00:07:14]I should have he just I tried to check in the last few days and he just wouldn't let me anywhere near him. He didn't want a kiss, a hug, nothing.

[00:07:23]probably didn't want you to give him a hug cuz then you could tell that >> I would have known like he I told him he was stumbling a little bit last night but he's not the most coordinated kid in the world and he said he was okay and then he ate >> What was the last time he ate? You think?

[00:07:41]>> Last night.

[00:07:43]>> No, Gabriel, keep him up there.

[00:07:47]>> Um, he ate >> he ate toast.

[00:07:51]>> Um, there's two. So, there's a 7-year-old and a 20-year-old.

[00:07:54]>> The seven-year-old was asleep. I guess he's not now.

[00:08:00]>> Oh my god. I was trying to make him eat.

[00:08:06]I didn't know.

[00:08:11]I feel like such a failure. You You see there's food in the house.

[00:08:16]>> Oh my god.

[00:08:17]>> Where Where was Where does he sleep at?

[00:08:19]>> Right there in that room. that that loft bed.

[00:08:21]>> Okay. So, I know there's another loft bed in another room.

[00:08:24]>> Yeah, that's my seven-year-old, but he's been sleeping with me since the the youngest is my husband's to mine.

[00:08:29]>> Mhm.

[00:08:29]>> And he's been sleeping with me since his daddy had a stroke.

[00:08:32]>> Okay.

[00:08:33]>> Cuz he's scared. And um I offered to let Timothy move in there because he uh he wanted to stay in his bed.

[00:08:44]Oh my god.

[00:08:46]No. I should have made a pee.

[00:08:49]That's something. Can they really hide that from you like that?

[00:08:54]>> They can hide a lot of things from you.

[00:08:55]>> Oh my gosh.

[00:08:59]>> What's What's your date of birth, ma'am?

[00:09:01]>> 313 of 79.

[00:09:04]>> There's a pattern often seen in cases like this. Self-pity presented alongside tragedy. Shondaanda calls herself a failure, though the bigger concern should be what Timothy experienced in that house of horrors.

[00:09:19]Okay, you can call make some calls if you want. Again, >> I'll tried I'll try again. I'm sorry.

[00:09:24]I'm just I don't know what >> No, I Nothing I can say could help you through this. You know, it's >> the best thing is to do is is just bring your loved ones in and >> just baby brother doesn't know what's going on and he's going to have to tell him eventually, but I don't want to yet.

[00:09:41]Oh my gosh.

[00:09:42]>> But we have to investigate every every death. Um, so I can't let anybody go in the basement for now.

[00:09:50]>> You're okay. Um, a medical examiner is going to be coming here in a little bit.

[00:09:54]>> I'm sorry it's a little cluttered down there, but >> you're fine.

[00:09:57]>> I'm sure y'all seem a lot worse.

[00:10:00]>> Okay. Um, >> right now, nobody is worried about clutter. There are far more serious questions surrounding what happened to Timothy. A messy basement barely registers in a case like this.

[00:10:16]Pardon?

[00:10:17]>> Where does he sleep?

[00:10:18]>> Down there. Right there in that room.

[00:10:20]>> So that's >> the bed. You see the pillow on the blanket and stuff?

[00:10:24]>> He sleeps on the top bunk.

[00:10:25]>> Yeah, it's a loft. There's no on a bunk stuff underneath it.

[00:10:28]>> Oh, it's like a desk on the underneath.

[00:10:30]>> Yeah. Well, yeah. The desk got broken, but there's boxes underneath it.

[00:10:38]>> So, you heard him fall?

[00:10:39]>> Yeah. that woke you up.

[00:10:41]>> And you went down there and he was >> and I helped him up. Um I asked him if he wanted something to eat cuz he again he he the first time I noticed anything on even knew his face was last night and he said, "No, I'm not hungry." I said, "Do you do you hit your head?" And I checked his head to make sure he didn't have anything. I notic some scratches on his face. I'm like, "Are you okay?" "No, I'm fine."

[00:11:05]And then I watched him get back up on his bed.

[00:11:10]And then I went back upstairs and then I woke up and I wanted to check on him this morning when I was getting ready for work.

[00:11:18]So I went down there and and I said something and I was seeing him wake up and I shook him and didn't respond.

[00:11:25]>> Was he on the bed when you came down there?

[00:11:26]>> Yes.

[00:11:29]>> The conditions Timothy lived in were disturbing. Timothy wasn't even allowed the basic comfort of a bed. Instead, he was reportedly living inside a closet where Timothy was forced to stay for almost the entire day and night. In fact, he was forced to pee and poop inside the same closet.

[00:11:52]>> And then you pulled him down and started CPR. Okay.

[00:11:55]>> I called 911. I I was My 20-year-old was getting up cuz I was going to drop him off at work early because his ebike has a flat tire.

[00:12:05]Oh my gosh.

[00:12:10]I should have noticed this. I should have seen this. Oh my gosh.

[00:12:15]>> All right.

[00:12:18][sighs] >> No.

[00:12:25]>> We got We have um people coming to talk to you called victim services. They'll help you through >> Thank you.

[00:12:33]>> the grieving process because it's I feel [laughter] he's he's really good at hiding stuff.

[00:12:42]He's that's part of the reason his dad couldn't handle him [laughter] is cuz he kept lying about stuff.

[00:12:48]In cases like this, creating the image of a difficult child often becomes important because it helps justify the unjustifiable.

[00:12:57]It shifts attention away from the abuse and onto the victim.

[00:13:02]>> How old is he?

[00:13:03]>> 15.

[00:13:03]>> 15.

[00:13:04]>> He'll be 16 in August.

[00:13:06]>> Okay.

[00:13:07]>> But his dad texted me last May and said, "I can't handle him anymore. I have to send him to live with you." And I'm like, "Yeah, sure. Absolutely."

[00:13:13]>> Why? Why was that? Why was What did he What did he do that?

[00:13:15]>> He said he was lying to him. He was um destroying things. Um >> is he is he hard to deal with? I don't think so, but I'm stricter than his dad, >> so I don't know if that I mean he he he's the lying's been a problem. Um, >> but nothing major.

[00:13:32]>> Nothing crazy.

[00:13:33]>> No. Um, >> he's all teenagers.

[00:13:37]>> He's tripped down the stairs a couple of times, like just half the flight.

[00:13:41]>> And then later he came back to me, admitted he did it intentionally, but I've asked him, I'm like, "Do you try to hurt yourself?" He's like, "No, I just wanted to see what would happen." It's that's the way a lot of time he he wants to see what would happen if he does stuff and oh my gosh >> and I guess he he was take he he's prescribed ADHD medicine but he's not taking it.

[00:14:02]>> Yeah because it was he wasn't able to sleep with it and he was doing really well and he asked me if he could not take it and I said okay and it was killing his appetite. That doesn't help.

[00:14:10]That was he started he quit taking it about the time of the first hunger strike because um when he finally started eating and he was he was >> but he did eat last night you said.

[00:14:20]>> Yes. He had some toast with butter on it is what he had. That's all he wanted to eat. He said his stomach was a little upset and he didn't want to eat anything else.

[00:14:29]Oh my gosh. Do you want to go check on the other kids?

[00:14:32]>> Yeah, you can do that for sure.

[00:14:33]>> I know my 20-year-old's got my seven-year-old still.

[00:14:36]>> No, that's Hey.

[00:14:39]Hello.

[00:14:40]>> You okay up here?

[00:14:42]>> Yeah.

[00:14:45]>> Just I'm sorry. Splutter Joe. I'm really sorry.

[00:14:53]Oh my god.

[00:14:58]I knew I should have made him eat, but he just Did you notice it was covering up with clothing?

[00:15:05]>> He didn't notice. Never mind. I love my dear, but you just you never noticed it.

[00:15:10]>> Shondaanda is clearly trying to distance herself from the responsibility, but at this point, the evidence is moving much faster than her explanations.

[00:15:20]>> Do you have a picture of him like before he started losing weight?

[00:15:23]>> Um, [sighs] yeah.

[00:15:27]See if I can find it.

[00:15:40]>> You doing all right?

[00:15:45]>> Yeah. It's almost like you're in a days.

[00:15:48]Like you don't know what's real and what's not.

[00:15:54]Okay.

[00:15:55]>> Have Have you been talking to him at all recently?

[00:15:58]>> I talked to him yesterday morning to get him up.

[00:16:00]>> That was right. Basically when he started >> Okay. So, >> did you Did you know that he was in this hunger strike?

[00:16:10]>> I think I mean, >> did I tell you or not? I don't know if I did or not.

[00:16:16]>> I don't I don't think you did.

[00:16:17]>> Cuz he's he's skin and bone.

[00:16:19]>> I know. Boy, I just How did he >> He's He's really >> Well, he he doesn't communicate with him hard at all. Like, they say hi and they don't Yeah, he's >> Are you guys full brothers or half brothers?

[00:16:33]>> Well, they're full. The only half is the one that's in there.

[00:16:35]>> Okay.

[00:16:36]>> Miracle.

[00:16:37]>> Yeah.

[00:16:43]>> Investigators would later learn something even more disturbing.

[00:16:47]Timothy's own brother had allegedly been made to participate in the abuse that led to his death.

[00:16:54]>> And when when was the last time you talked to Tim?

[00:16:56]>> Uh yesterday morning when I was getting him up.

[00:17:00]>> No, yesterday afternoon before you left for work before I picked you up and took you to work cuz your ebike time. You were you talked to him then?

[00:17:08]>> I got off of work this morning.

[00:17:10]>> Has he talked to you recently about his problems at all or what's what he's dealing with? No, he he never said any of his word to me. He >> really talked at all.

[00:17:19]>> Did you guys have normal conversations?

[00:17:22]>> Um >> I think the last time we did was before all of this happened >> after that.

[00:17:30]>> They they literally cuz he works a lot and they didn't talk. Yeah.

[00:17:36]>> Sometimes brothers will tell each other what >> they're not willing to tell their parents.

[00:17:40]>> Why went on hunger strike? I mean, I mean, >> he didn't even know anything about it, he said. So, >> by now, officers have seen enough. At this point, Shawn is placed under arrest and transported to the police station.

[00:17:56]When you join my Patreon, [music] you'll get instant access to hundreds of posts and a ton of exclusive Stranger Stories [music] videos that are available for members only. It is also a great way to directly support me and the channel.

[00:18:11]Check out my page right now at patreon.com/strangertories [music] plus concerned about her 20-year-old son.

[00:18:21]>> Oh, okay.

[00:18:22]>> So, that's what that was about. So, please take care of yourself. He's a respectful officer. He's assuring me he's going to do a medical screening. I know you got medical problems. You have to take good care of yourself. This is a manageable problem. The law says you're presumed innocent and you know that.

[00:18:40]Okay? So don't assume the worst. Assume the best. Okay? But take care of yourself. I'll be back in touch with you as soon as I can.

[00:18:50]>> Okay?

[00:18:50]>> Okay. I do have to go. I'm heading out of state right now, but I'm back tomorrow.

[00:18:55]>> Okay.

[00:18:55]>> And as soon as I got more concrete information, I'll come see you.

[00:18:59]>> Okay.

[00:18:59]>> Thank you.

[00:19:00]>> Good. Please take care of yourself. Do you got any property you want me to take possession of? Cuz you can't keep it hanging here.

[00:19:06]>> Um my I've got my ID. I mean, I don't >> You should keep that.

[00:19:11]>> Yeah, we should bring that with you.

[00:19:12]>> Keys.

[00:19:14]Paul doesn't know where another set is.

[00:19:17]>> He doesn't know where another set of keys is.

[00:19:19]>> Okay. Should I give them You want me to give them to Paul?

[00:19:22]>> Yes, please.

[00:19:23]>> Okay.

[00:19:25]Okay. If I take these >> just >> Yeah, I can do that.

[00:19:29]>> I I'll take them. I sure it's okay with you.

[00:19:31]>> That's fine. Okay.

[00:19:33]>> I don't think I'll bring anything. I was just cold.

[00:19:37]>> Please take care of yourself.

[00:19:39]>> You'll be okay.

[00:19:40]>> Try.

[00:19:42]>> Okay.

[00:19:44]Just going to take you back.

[00:19:45]>> I'll bring you back here. I'll tell you everything that's going on or what I've been instructed to do.

[00:19:53]Thank you.

[00:19:54]>> All right. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

[00:19:59]All right. um you're going to be charged with child abuse right now.

[00:20:02]>> By this stage, Shondaanda is clearly emotional, but once again, the emotion seems centered more around herself than Timothy.

[00:20:11]>> Um I believe it's the first or second degree. So, it it is a felony. So, you you won't be able to get out of jail until you see the judge until the warrant paperwork's down there. Okay.

[00:20:24]Which will probably be tomorrow.

[00:20:27]>> All right.

[00:20:27]>> Sorry. No, I I'm I'm the bearer of bad news right now.

[00:20:32]>> Thank you. No.

[00:20:34]>> Yeah, it's been a bad couple days. It's been a bad 6 months.

[00:20:38]>> Had a stroke 6 months ago.

[00:20:39]>> Mhm.

[00:20:42]>> Sorry.

[00:20:43]>> Nope. You're all right. Um I do have to handcuff you, but I'll do it in the front.

[00:20:47]>> Okay.

[00:20:48]>> Um >> if my blood sugar crashes, I need that.

[00:20:52]>> Are you diabetic?

[00:20:53]>> I'm reactive hypoglycemic.

[00:20:55]>> Okay. Do you take medication for that?

[00:20:57]No, I have a service dog normally, but I didn't bring him.

[00:21:00]>> Yeah, >> for good reason.

[00:21:02]>> All right, I can let you have that all the way up until the jail. Okay, >> but the jail won't let you bring in any kind of food or nothing. So, if you want to drink it, you can always drink it now.

[00:21:11]>> Just worried that we'll keep it to my stomach.

[00:21:13]>> All right.

[00:21:14]>> I haven't been able to keep anything down.

[00:21:16]>> Oh, the last couple days.

[00:21:18]>> I don't want you puking then if you're going to try to drink it.

[00:21:22]>> I can try. We'll see. I don't know.

[00:21:25]>> All right. So, I got my hands on you.

[00:21:27]I'll do it in the front because I know you're not going to give me any problems.

[00:21:31]>> Once officers complete the standard procedures and evaluations, she is taken to the Moskegan County Jail.

[00:21:51]>> What' you do with your uh >> Oh, leave it there.

[00:21:56]Yeah, I just got to throw it away somewhere. So, you can leave it there. That's fine.

[00:22:01]>> Sorry.

[00:22:02]>> Oh, you're all right. I just wanted to give [clears throat] you this chance to if you wanted to drink it or not.

[00:22:06]>> That's a good idea.

[00:22:08]>> Not from all the Yeah. Gagging.

[00:22:17]Just hang tight for a second. We're good.

[00:22:22]Um, I wouldn't advise it not to. This is not a clean place. Um, right here at least.

[00:22:27]>> Crouch.

[00:22:27]>> Yeah.

[00:22:29]>> Just go.

[00:22:30]>> No, you're fine. Um, I'm going to take your temperature.

[00:22:37][snorts] This is touchless. So, >> 96.5.

[00:22:56]97.

[00:22:59]>> Really? That's a little bit lower than normal.

[00:23:02]>> Now the legal side begins. Shondaanda is processed and formally charged with firstdegree ch and firstdegree murder.

[00:23:12]But the full extent of what happened is about to become even clearer through the interview with Paul Ferguson, Shondaanda's 20-year-old son. And uh I know that that night Timothy did eat because we had pizza. He had three slices.

[00:23:26]>> I want to stop it for just a second because >> Sorry.

[00:23:29]>> That's okay. Um >> I don't want to talk anything specific about the case just yet.

[00:23:34]>> Since you since the police showed up at your house and >> yeah, >> they brought you down here. I want to advise you some rights before we talk about that sort of thing. What I do want you to know though is that we went through the phones. Okay. Okay, >> we're beginning to go through the phones and there's a lot of evidence in the phones and I know that you're kind of aware of communication between yourself and your mother >> and those sort of things and that's kind of what I want to talk to you about.

[00:23:55]>> But um >> I mean certainly those are very serious things that you guys are talking about.

[00:24:02]>> Yeah. And I mean, from what I saw, it sounds like you're compassionate and that you cared about him and you sent some pictures that were like, he's looking too skinny and we we need to feed him. And you know, there's sometimes you got frustrated, but at the end of the day, you kept coming back to like to caring.

[00:24:19]Um, >> but the end result is that he passed away, right? And he passed away from not eating food.

[00:24:26]>> Um, so I I want you to be aware of this stuff, okay? So these are your random rights, right? You have the right to remain silent.

[00:24:34]>> Detectives are easing into the interrogation with harmless questions, but without any prompt, Paul starts discussing Timothy before they even pressure him.

[00:24:44]>> Um, when we talk about Let's jump right into it.

[00:24:49]>> I know that we talked yesterday and I know that not everything that we talked about was the truth yesterday. That's okay. You don't have to feel bad. You don't have to feel guilty about not telling the truth to me. Okay? I want you to just focus on yourself right now.

[00:25:03]Think about what's best for you and and like try to get to the truth of what really happened with you, brother, cuz he deserves that.

[00:25:10]>> Um I mean, there's clearly a lot of messages about stuff that you guys are doing with him, about what he's eating, about restricting his food. How did that how did that all work?

[00:25:21]Like what was he allowed to eat?

[00:25:24]We stopped the food restrictions recently because we had noticed a thin.

[00:25:29]We wanted to get that back on. We didn't want any of this. We never wanted him to be injured or hurt. I loved him so much.

[00:25:37]>> Yeah, I can tell that.

[00:25:38]>> I can certainly tell that.

[00:25:40]>> When you say we, you talk about your mother.

[00:25:41]>> Yes. She she loved him. We wanted what's best.

[00:25:44]>> The thing is he was stuck in the past.

[00:25:48]>> Okay.

[00:25:49]What uh so you stopped the food restriction. When did that kind of happen? like ballpark that two weeks approximately. We we were hoping that we could get enough where he would be safe and then we could continue to add it back to where we wouldn't have to worry and we could What were the What were the restrictions? We made sure that it was still something that gave him enough calories and everything. We It was rice or bread and like I said last week he got pizza.

[00:26:20]>> Okay. What were the what were they in place for like in the first place?

[00:26:24]>> Sneaking food over and over and over. We we've tried everything. We were nice. We tried different consequences, but you just couldn't never listen.

[00:26:33]>> What were some of the other types of consequences? Like um like prior to prior to like are we talking like we did take away his devices. Okay.

[00:26:46]because that was also because he wouldn't stay on his school sites and would just go and try and play games or watch YouTube.

[00:26:55]>> Okay.

[00:26:56]>> But he was The thing is he should have been held back so much.

[00:27:02]>> Yeah.

[00:27:02]>> But he passed all of his final exams.

[00:27:05]So I don't think it was my stepmother.

[00:27:08]My stepmother was amazing.

[00:27:09]>> Yeah.

[00:27:09]>> But I believe it was my father's doing it.

[00:27:12]>> Okay.

[00:27:13]Helping him pass exams. Was it all online school? No, for back in Oklahoma he went to public. The thing is he never really did any of the other work, but when it came to final exams, he had everything he needed to know. So they let him move to the next grade, which was just right.

[00:27:28]>> Listen carefully to how casually he explains these punishments. A normal person would struggle to even say these things out loud, but Paul talks about them like they were everyday necessary decisions.

[00:27:42]>> So we're talking So today's the 7th.

[00:27:45]Yesterday the 6th, what did we talk about the last day? Was really kind of talking outside of the morning room.

[00:27:50]>> The fifth. He talked some in the morning. He was responsive.

[00:27:54]>> Yeah, >> that much I know.

[00:27:57]>> What's the deal with the photograph in the bathtub of his face? Like zoomed in on his face.

[00:28:02]>> Uh he he had been taking a bath.

[00:28:05]>> Okay.

[00:28:05]>> And I went in there to check on him at one point and he was just kind of laying there. I'm like, "Bud, you okay?" He didn't respond, but he was looking around. So, and he was breathing. I know that much.

[00:28:17]>> Yeah.

[00:28:19]>> So, okay. So, at that time, but he wasn't talking at that time.

[00:28:24]>> No. And it did it's it started to concern me. I I'm not sure if I texted mama about it or not. Well, you sent a picture to her.

[00:28:32]>> Yeah. I probably should have said something about the ER at that one.

[00:28:36]>> Well, I certainly stupid.

[00:28:38]>> You have to think about it like this, right? She's she's a grown adult. And if she she sees that, that's not all on you, right?

[00:28:45]>> You you made from what I see, you made numerous attempts to say we need to do something different about this.

[00:28:51]>> Yeah.

[00:28:51]>> We we can't keep doing this thing.

[00:28:53]>> I know she's a good person. I just >> And it's not I don't think I don't know if this is both of our faults, if we should have done something sooner. I know we both could have.

[00:29:05]>> Yeah. I mean, I think you have to think about this. Right now is not a time about blaming people, but it's a time to try to figure out, you know, when when could we have changed things? What could we have done differently? How did we get to the point where we were at? Because, you know, clearly where you guys got to, you said you was in the bath. That wasn't a nice enjoyable bath though, right? That was a punishment bath, right? That's a cold ice cold bath.

[00:29:30]And and that doesn't that's hard to >> I did wash and he did he I did tell him that if he wanted to wash up and he did but then >> in the middle of it I think he the whole laying there in days happened >> when he's getting these ice masks I know there's numerous of them right I mean cuz I've read through the messages >> how how are you getting the ice like where's it coming from? We have an ice machine upstairs. It's not a lot. It can barely create any. It's enough to make a full on.

[00:29:57]>> But it's a cold bath.

[00:30:00]>> Yeah. And you're putting ice in there.

[00:30:02]Like one one dump ice.

[00:30:05]>> One dump. Yeah. Maybe that much. And And then you're just running cold water or what type of water?

[00:30:11]>> Uh it the water doesn't exactly feel cold. It says there's a cold button, but it's basically sort of lukewarmish.

[00:30:20]>> How many times would you ask me to ask cold bass as a punishment for navigating or whatever? Whatever for whatever reason.

[00:30:29]>> At this point, there are only two terrifying possibilities. Either Paul was completely psychologically controlled by Shondaanda or there was already something deeply wrong inside him to begin with.

[00:30:44]So there's this restriction on food. He talked about bread. For how long was he eating just bread?

[00:30:52]A week or two. What was he kind of eating before that? Um we do ramen sandwiches and I think at some points we actually give him like a meal.

[00:31:08]What uh why was it that he couldn't have meals?

[00:31:14]I mean the whole sneaking I just I don't >> cuz he was sneaking food >> a lot. Yeah. We over and over and over.

[00:31:32]>> There literally be times where I would be sitting on the couch playing.

[00:31:36]>> Yeah.

[00:31:38]>> And then I'd look up and he's there grabbing something.

[00:31:40]>> Yeah.

[00:31:42]And so whose idea was it for him to just eat bread? Is that your idea?

[00:31:46]>> No.

[00:31:47]>> Whose idea was that?

[00:31:49]>> My mother's. Tell me about the hot sauce. I know that that was you who says both the punishment and it was put on the bread. Was it always on the bread?

[00:31:58]>> Not always. No. But the thing is it still hardly did anything for him.

[00:32:04]>> There would be times where it would do something for me because I'd accidentally rub my eye after I put it on there. It was Ow. Yeah. So, you're putting are you what what dictates whether or not there's hot dogs on everybody's eating? What What decides that? I I don't know. I just whenever my mother told me to put hot sauce on it, I did.

[00:32:29]It was normally a thin layer to make sure that it wouldn't be too much because from what I know goat the ghost or the California reaper is what 2,000 Scoville or 2 million Scoville.

[00:32:43]>> What does that mean?

[00:32:44]>> It's the hot sauce or the hot the heat index basically.

[00:32:49]>> Okay.

[00:32:50]>> And that's pretty hot.

[00:32:52]>> Very. So >> So how long are you guys been using the hot sauce for? Um, almost a month maybe.

[00:33:04]>> Okay. And was that when we got bread or was that on other stuff, too?

[00:33:08]>> Uh, I think one time we put it in some rice.

[00:33:14]>> Okay.

[00:33:15]>> But after that, I don't think we did that again.

[00:33:17]>> What was it? What was it used for?

[00:33:19]Right. Cuz you're giving him a badass meal. What's the purpose of the hot sauce?

[00:33:26]I know it was punishment, but honestly, I don't think it was that useful because like I said, he had no feeling in his tongue. He He thought he put a hole in it at one point and didn't even feel it. Was he eating the spread of the house or was he >> Yeah, he was.

[00:33:42]>> Is that really the only things he had to eat those days or would he get other things to eat?

[00:33:46]>> Um, from the bread and rice, others have not that I know of. Okay. Okay.

[00:33:55]So for how long do you think he just ate rice and bread and hot sauce?

[00:34:01]>> Maybe four months maybe one month. Sorry.

[00:34:05]>> I was thinking 4 weeks and we totally understand. I understand what you're saying. So maybe about 4 weeks.

[00:34:12]>> Yeah.

[00:34:13]>> Did you see a decline in during that four weeks of losing even more weight or being even less responsive or did what what changed when you moved into doing that? Um, I think it was that there would be times where it would take him a moment to respond. At first, I thought it was just him acting, but then I was getting concerned. I think a week or so, maybe a go. Okay.

[00:34:45]>> That his responses are delayed. Is that >> Yeah. And as a matter of fact, I think you mentioned that to your mom multiple times, right? That >> that he doesn't seem to be responding, that he can't walk very well, he's stumbling. I think you mentioned those things to >> What did she What was her response to those things?

[00:35:04]>> Um I think she was thinking because there was one point where he did that, but it was before he was thin.

[00:35:13]>> Yeah.

[00:35:14]>> And it scared the crap out of me. But then he admitted to my mother later that day while I was at work that it was an act.

[00:35:21]>> Okay.

[00:35:22]>> So I guess we made the mistake she made the mistake of believing that that was what it was. I don't I know it he's done stuff like that back in Oklahoma too. He would he would do something that would scare the crap out of us >> to make us believe that >> something was wrong. And several times here he faked seizures.

[00:35:51]I've seen it because and I've also seen what happens because back in Oklahoma he had seizures from medication problems.

[00:35:59]>> Okay.

[00:36:01]But but yeah, I know I can tell the difference. And at one point he nearly Gabriel had just barely walked back into the parents into mom and Adam's room.

[00:36:12]mama and Adam's room when he tried it again. Had Gabriel been there, he would have been even more terrified than he already was because like we said, he was there for the stroke and the seizure.

[00:36:23]So, notice the collective language Paul uses here. He doesn't separate himself from Shondaanda. He speaks as part of the team, as if the punishments were shared family decisions instead of torture. If you're into clean designs with a criminal twist, you want to check out What's Live right now on strangerlelabel.com.

[00:36:47]From heavyweight t-shirts and hoodies to tank tops and sweatshirts, it's all made for fans of mystery suspense and everything in between. Take a minute, browse over at stranger label.com.

[00:37:00]Let's get back to the case.

[00:37:02]>> She told you what to say?

[00:37:05]>> Because why? Did she tell you why?

[00:37:08]Does it look bad for you guys?

[00:37:10]>> It's not just that. We loved him. She >> Does it Can I ask you this like straight up? You keep saying loved love. Do you feel like this was love? That he's dead now because he couldn't eat food? Does that feel like love to you?

[00:37:26]>> No.

[00:37:26]>> He's dead because he couldn't eat?

[00:37:29]>> No.

[00:37:30]>> And I don't know anybody that thinks that's love. What I think's happening is your mom's convinced you that she's this perfect person and she's asking you to do all these things that are literally killing your brother.

[00:37:41]>> I know she's not perfect.

[00:37:44]How is that love? How is love? How is love ice baths? How is love How is love handcuffing and how is love restricting movement? And how is love hot sauce in the mouth and only eating bread? Like what if you're what if you only got to eat bread? How would you feel? What if you only got to eat bread with hot sauce? Would you eat? No.

[00:38:05]>> You're pretty skinny already. It wouldn't take you long.

[00:38:07]>> This is This is my natural weight. I have an overactive metabolism, but it wouldn't take you long to be very much skin and bones if all you got to eat was bread and hot sauce because how could you eat it?

[00:38:18]>> By this point, the interrogation becomes far more direct. And it's becoming painfully obvious that Paul had been heavily manipulated over a long period of time.

[00:38:31]Do you think she did that? Do you think that message is just a little bit suspicious that she sends you at just about midnight that says he's he's in the closet? I had to drag him in there.

[00:38:42]You don't think he was already dying or dead at that point?

[00:38:46]>> I was working. I didn't read that message until basically I gotten home.

[00:38:51]>> But do you think she sent that for a reason? Why would she send that?

[00:38:55]>> I don't know. Doesn't it seem like maybe he was already dead that she put him in there so that he could wake up and have died in his sleep? Cuz she can't call the police when he's in an ice bath and he freezes and he dies. Not freezes, per se, but he dies in the bath and she drags him in there. Did she talk to you at all about that? Did she tell you the truth about what really happened?

[00:39:18]>> I don't know at this point.

[00:39:19]>> She did, right? I don't want you to lie to anybody.

[00:39:22]>> No, I don't know if you died in there. I don't know where I I I remember I know that when it when I got up he was gone.

[00:39:33]And when was the last time you saw him alive?

[00:39:37]>> The fifth. What time? Bald.

[00:39:41]>> Um I think because of my bike, mama had to come pick me up and drop me off at work.

[00:39:47]So, I was very late getting there, but I had let them know beforehand.

[00:40:01]>> I know he was alive before I left.

[00:40:04]>> You know, he was alive when he left for work.

[00:40:06]>> Yeah.

[00:40:06]>> And you don't really know exactly what was, but >> I think I managed to get there a little bit after 6.

[00:40:16]I managed to get it get to work around 6:35ish.

[00:40:21]>> The deeper investigators push, the clearer it becomes. Paul's thinking has become warped.

[00:40:30]>> Supposed to be set to 11:49 p.m. 7:5 says, "Please set your alarm for 6:00 a.m." I ended up dragging him back to a small room that's talking about the closet.

[00:40:41]>> Yeah. because I wasn't going to risk him having access to the tub or other things overnight.

[00:40:50]Wasn't he already in the tub? So, what do you mean risk him having access to the tub overnight?

[00:40:55]>> He's still trying to water.

[00:40:57]>> She says he's still trying to be stupid, but I will tell you more tomorrow while I take you to work describing how many different ways I've proved that he's still faking.

[00:41:07]>> He's still doing it.

[00:41:08]>> The thing was that ridiculous. I had offered him a pizza roll because I was I wanted to truly test whether he was faking or not.

[00:41:18]And at [clears throat] first he didn't he didn't move. I'm like, "Okay, maybe this is" But then he moved and went to try and grab it. I'm like, "Okay, I don't I don't even know. I don't know anymore."

[00:41:28]>> Well, he wasn't faking it, right? Cuz he died.

[00:41:30]>> Yeah.

[00:41:30]>> He wasn't faking it. Unless he unless your mom did something to him to kill him. Do you think she did that?

[00:41:35]>> No, of course not. outside of not being food and punishment for months. That's what killed him, right? Or did she did she hold a a pillow over his mouth and suffer?

[00:41:44]>> No, of course not. She's not She wouldn't >> Did she throw and squeeze it until he died?

[00:41:49]>> No.

[00:41:50]>> So, what killed him was not having food, not having access to food and malnutrition for months. How long did this go on for?

[00:41:58]>> I don't know. I don't know. You feel you feel good at all about any of this stuff?

[00:42:03]>> No, of course not.

[00:42:04]>> I can't, right? I can't I can't even live with myself.

[00:42:07]>> But you how do you feel about over and over and over again defending your mother about how good she is? Do you feel like that's the truth anymore?

[00:42:14]>> Cuz I'm quite disgusted by her.

[00:42:18]>> I'm disgusted by her.

[00:42:20]>> She never wanted this. How smart is your mom?

[00:42:24]>> She's incredibly intelligent, radically loudy, right? Have you ever thought about that? had ever thought, "How can a woman that's this smart, this intelligent, graduate from law school?

[00:42:36]How could she not know what's happening?

[00:42:39]How could she think this is fake? How does she not know she's starving? How does she not see that he's wasting away?" And you here, you're telling me that you've got some some mental health issues, but you graduated from high school and it's very obvious to you that he's mal he's got malnutrition, right?

[00:42:55]It's very obvious to you, but your mom here is not seeing that and she's a she's a law school graduate and she's very smart. Do you see what I'm looking at here? She's a liar. She's lied to you about so much stuff. At some point, you need to stand up for yourself and realize she's the manipulator. She's a liar. She put you in this spot. She did this to your brother using you. Do you not see that? that she used you to do this to your brother. Your mother used you. She's so smart. She's smarter than any of us here. She's smarter than me.

[00:43:31]She's smarter than any detective here.

[00:43:33]She's smarter than our chief of police here. She's smarter than all of us. And and we're supposed to believe she didn't know what's happening. No. She didn't want him around anymore because he was too much of a problem. You know that's the truth. You can look back at and see that, can't you? She didn't want him around anymore because he was too much work.

[00:43:55]That's the truth. And the second you start to believe that and understand that, then I think that's the time you can move forward in this case. Until you believe that, until you understand that, you're never moving forward from this.

[00:44:07]This isn't an accident. This didn't just happen. Your mom knew exactly what was happening to him, that he was wasting away.

[00:44:15]You saw it, didn't you?

[00:44:17]You saw it happening right in front of you.

[00:44:24]It was never intentional from your from for you or for her. Is she smart or is she not smart? She's highly intelligent.

[00:44:33]>> Then how is this not intentional? She thought what what did she think was going to happen then?

[00:44:39]He was just going to be good and all of a sudden he was going to start behaving and doing everything she said because she didn't feed him food. I don't know.

[00:44:46]What did she think was going to happen?

[00:44:48]I don't know. I don't know what exactly what happened. This is what she thought was going to happen. At some point, he wasn't going to wake up. She never wanted him dead. She loved him. That's love to you. Everything that we talked about is love.

[00:45:04]>> I How you ready, man? Ready to go home?

[00:45:09]Oh, yeah. I got I got um keys from your mom for the house.

[00:45:18]No, I do not.

[00:45:20]>> Throughout the interrogation, Paul repeatedly shows self soothing behaviors, trying to calm himself down physically while the pressure keeps building, but in the end, none of it would save him from what was coming. In the end, both Paul and Shonda were held responsible for Timothy's death. Paul Ferguson was sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison for firstdegree child abuse, while Shondaanda received life without the possibility of parole.

[00:45:50]Thanks again for tuning in. Drop a like if you like this video and check out my Patreon page if you want to support the channel even more. Stay safe and I'll see you in the next one.