KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — A Kaufman County man and woman are jailed after being accused of waterboarding, among other abusive acts, a child under the age of 14 in January 2016.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — A Kaufman County man and woman are jailed after being accused of waterboarding, among other abusive acts, a child under the age of 14 in January 2016.
40-year-old Christi Howell was arrested and charged with injury to a child on February 9, 2016. Howell is being held at the Kaufman County jail with a $250,000 bond.
Howell’s boyfriend, 45-year-old Casey Shackleford, was sought in connection with the case and turned himself in on Wednesday night, according to the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office.
An arrest warrant affidavit for Shackleford confirms he too was wanted on a charge of injury to a child. Shackleford was arraigned on Friday and is being held on $150,000 surety bond for the injury to a child charge.
According to an arrest affidavit for Howell, in a forensic interview at the Kaufman County Children’s Advocacy Center, the victim told investigators he attempted to do the right thing and admit to Shackleford that he had placed his finger in the family’s dog’s butt.
The victim said Shackleford grabbed him by the hair, pinned him down on the ground, and told Howell to get cold water and pour it on the victim’s face while he held a towel over his head and face, a torture technique known as waterboarding, according to the affidavit.
“He was able to breathe slightly if he moved his head to the side and that kept him from feeling like he was drowning,” the victim states in the affidavit.
Shackleford then instructed Howell to retrieve a ”pig rope” which was used to tie the victim’s genitals and around the back of his neck which caused rope burn marks to his genitals, neck, and chest, according to the affidavit.
On February 3, 2016, a Van Zandt County investigator had talked to Howell over the phone about the incident, according to the affidavit, which states Howell admitted to tying the rope around the victim and pouring the water on his face.
Howell said Shackleford “came up with the idea and told her to do it,” states the affidavit.
The victim, a relative of Howell whose relationship will not be defined in an effort to protect the identity of the victim, is reportedly in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The incident allegedly occurred in the 15000 block of County Road 4009 in eastern Kaufman County.
Shackleford was charged in 2015 with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon when he used a wood handle metal shovel during an altercation with family members. Shackleford pled guilty and was sentenced to four years deferred adjudication. A warrant has since been issued on a motion to revoke, according to county records.
This is a developing story.