REEDSBURG, Wis. - A father and mother were charged in Wisconsin after their teenage son died and another child was hospitalized following what the father described as a weekslong religious fast.
The father walked to the Reedsburg police station Sunday to report the death of his 15-year-old son, according to police Chief Timothy Becker. When police arrived at the family’s home they found the dead teen and an extremely emaciated 11-year-old boy. The mother was also found to be emaciated.
Becker said the father, identified in criminal charges as 49-year-old Kehinde Omosebi, told police he was a minister affiliated with Cornerstone Reformation Ministries and that the family had started a religious fast on July 17. Investigators do not believe the father is a minister and made up the name of the ministry, Becker said.
“There’s no IRS number, no corporation,” he said.
Omosebi told police they have done fasting with their children in the past but not for this long. He said they were waiting for the "blessing from God" to eat again. He said the fasting was supposed to end on Aug. 31, the day his son died.
No food was found in the house and police had to force their way into the home because doors were padlocked on the inside. The younger boy and his mother were brought to the hospital. The mother refused treatment, citing religious reasons, and was taken to the Sauk County Jail.
According to the charges, there was no furniture, personal hygiene items of any kind or cookware inside the home.
The parents were charged with neglecting a child causing death and neglecting a child causing great bodily harm, the chief said.
The younger child, who was too weak to talk or walk, is in protective custody at Children’s Hospital in Madison. Becker said the parents are eating while jailed in Baraboo.
Reedsburg, a community of about 10,000, is located approximately 130 miles west of Milwaukee.
