BARBOUR COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A disturbing child neglect case unfolded Tuesday night in Junior, West Virginia, after an eight-year-old boy asked a concerned citizen for food and revealed he was being punished for not doing chores.
On July 8, 2025, around 8:42 p.m., officers with the Belington Police Department were alerted after the child told a bystander he wasn’t allowed to eat because he hadn’t completed chores. The child also reportedly had a bruise on his arm and said, “That is what happens when I don’t do my chores.”
The child described unsanitary conditions at home, prompting police to investigate a residence at 225 West River Avenue. Officers made contact with the father, Jimmie Carpenter, who gave consent for police to enter the home.
What officers found inside was described as shocking and hazardous: floors soaked with dog urine, multiple piles of feces, rotting floorboards, and moldy, trash-filled bedrooms. The kitchen was overflowing with dirty dishes, spoiled food, and insects. The laundry room was littered with moldy clothes and more animal waste.
Upstairs, a 15-month-old child was found lying on a moldy pillow near empty beer cans, a crib filled with clothing, and trash, including soiled diapers and bloody toilet paper. Officers reported a foul odor throughout the home.
Four children live in the home—ages 15 months, 8, 14, and 17. Both parents, Carpenter and Cheyenne Sutliff, were interviewed at the scene.
Jimmie Carpenter and Cheyenne Sutliff have been charged with four counts of Child Neglect Creating Risk of Injury.
