A woman in Virginia was arrested after keeping her son in an outdoor box trailer in freezing weather, causing the boy’s leg to get amputated from the knee down because of severe frostbite while living outside in the trailer with no heat.
According to authorities, while she condemned her son to live outside in freezing weather for months, the more than 40 dogs on her property were found to be healthy and well taken care of.
It is unclear how old the child is as the arrest documents have been redacted.
Rebecca Rubia Bremner, 32, was arrested last month and charged with one count of child abuse and neglect, a felony, according to court records.
Detectives also arrested Michael Shikpark, 43, on the same day and charged him with the same felony crimes as Bremner over the poor child’s mistreatment. Police arrested him in North Carolina and took him to the Forsyth County Jail, where he is waiting to be extradited to Virginia.
On January 19, police got a 911 call about possible child abuse at a home in Castlewood, Virginia. Officers from Russell County Sheriff’s office and the Russell Animal Control Department responded to the call and executed a search warrant at Bremner’s home.
Deputies from the Sheriff’s office brought in animal control officers to assist them in dealing with the huge number of dogs seen at the home.
According to the criminal complaint, the investigator found the boy and rushed him to a nearby hospital because he appeared to have frostbite on his legs. The complaint said that officers noted the boy’s feet had turned black and had surrounding yellow tissue.
Medical personnel said that the boy’s injuries were too severe to save the leg and had to perform a below-the-knee amputation.
During interviews with investigators, the boy’s mother admitted to leaving the child to sleep in the outdoor trailer throughout the winter. She said that the trailer had three heaters inside and that she gave the boy cereal for breakfast, honey buns as snacks, and his lunch or supper would be either spaghetti or burgers.There was a toilet in the trailer that was cleaned about twice a week, and the child was given a bath in a hot tub located outside in the freezing cold.
Bremner said the trailer did not have a window and could only be opened from the outside, so he couldn’t get out when the door was shut.
Despite failing to care for her son properly, Bremner fed and cared for over 40 dogs at her home, and even after her arrest, she refused to give up the animals and arranged for a relative to look after them.
She is currently held without bond and will appear in court on February 10.
