UNNAMED TODDLER GIRL and SISTER - 19 Months and 4 yo / Accused: Parents; Jason and Amy Doty - Muncie IN

Muncie parents arrested for allegedly starving children
Jason Doty, 40, and Amy Doty, 34, were arrested after the paternal grandfather took the two little girls to Ball Memorial Hospital last week.

4:05 p.m. EDT, June 25, 2012

Indianapolis -- A mother and father were arrested and charged with neglect after police said their daughters were found malnourished after the parents took them on a cross-country road trip in pursuit of a television preacher.

Jason Doty, 40, and Amy Doty, 34, were arrested after the paternal grandfather took the two little girls to Ball Memorial Hospital last week.

"I mean, the one child to me looked like a child from a third world country," said Muncie Police Sgt. Linda Cook. "Very thin. Extended stomach. That kind of thing."

Cook said the parents told her that the 19-month-old had not walked in three weeks. She weighed just 17 pounds.

The 4-year-old was healthier and is currently in foster care. Her little sister is at Riley Hospital for Children.

Cook said the couple left for Branson, Missouri, last March to attend the Faith Life Church operated by a minister they had watched on television and followed on the internet.

"They pretty much took their life savings with them and ended up that they pretty much went through the life savings in a few months and were unable to feed their children," said Cook. "They could not buy food for the children and said they would go two to four days without eating and would supply them with water and maybe a few crackers that they had."

The parents told investigators they sought help from the church but were turned down. They returned home to Indiana, broke and hungry, just before Father's Day.

"Indications are they weren't raised that way," said Cook. "They should've sought help."

Parents and caregivers on the streets of Muncie agree.

"I believe in religion but they got to have the essentials like food, shoes, clothes," said Garrett Gaddis, father of a 2-year-old. "They should know better."

"Kids always come first," said Christine Ferree. "I have nieces. I take care of them. I make sure they have food always before I do so I think they should take care of their kids."

Cook said the Dotys believed God would provide for them.

They are currently booked in the Delaware County Jail.

http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-muncie-parents-starving-children-muncie-parents-arrested-for-allegedly-starving-children-20120625,0,3001746.column