INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Two mothers face child abuse charges in Jackson County, accused of tormenting their 14-year-old daughter in several different ways, including forcing her to eat a pot-pie filled with cat litter.
The court documents outline horrible abuse prosecutors say was inflicted on the child by Mary Seutter and April Coulson, which social media posts indicate are married.
They say the girl finally escaped her Independence home on August 11.
“They came over actually really upset when she had come up missing the other day. I believed she had run off with her boyfriend,” said Robert Spease, a neighbor.
Seutter and Coulson are accused of abusing the girl over a four-month period, beginning in April.
In one instance the girl told police that Seutter made her eat a pot pie filled with cat litter.
According to prosecutors, they hit, kicked and slapped the teenager.
In another instance, prosecutors say Seutter told the girl, “I wish you were one of those 13-year-old kids that would hang themselves.”
On August 11, the girl told police that her mothers got drunk, went outside and were too intoxicated to use their key to get into the house. When they finally did, the girl told police Seutter slapped, hit, kicked and tacked her, causing the girl to hit her head on the bedpost. That’s when the girl ran and called her grandmother for help.
Mary Seutter was born in 1981, making her approximately 34. April Coulson is approximately 36.
They’re charged with abuse or neglect of a child. Their preliminary hearing is set for September 9. Bond was set at $100,000.
