LAUREN ASHLEY XXXX - 8 yrs (2001) / Barbara Calhoun Atkinson, mother & Kenneth Ray Atkinson,stepfather - Dallas, TX

Poster's note: I heard about this horrific case on Dr. Phil. Here is a link to the story on Dr. Phil which was aired on 7/16/2012:

http://drphil.com/shows/show/1785/

Although this case has a positive ending, the h@ll Lauren went through is horrible and tragic. There are excerpts from the show on the link above and I found other articles as well and will post links in a separate post.

From Dr. Phil's link above:

The Girl in the Closet

July 16, 2012

It was a crime that shocked the world: 8-year-old Lauren was locked in a pitch-black closet, infested with lice, surrounded by human waste, and held captive by her mother and step-father, Barbara and Kenneth Atkinson, for six years. When she was found, Lauren was naked and emaciated, weighing a mere 25 pounds and standing only 3-feet tall — the size of a 3-year-old. In a daytime television exclusive, Lauren, now 18, bravely speaks out about the unimaginable horrors she suffered at the hands of her parents.

Warning: This episode contains disturbing and sexually explicit content. Viewer discretion advised.

“Barbie’s Little Secret”
Neighbors Jeanie and Joe recount the day that Kenneth revealed what he called “Barbie’s little secret,” and what they found in a back bedroom closet. And, police officer Gary McClain was the first to arrive on the scene. He describes what he saw and how Barbara and Kenneth reacted to being arrested.

“Lauren looked like a Holocaust child.”
http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6723/?id=6723&showID=1785


Inside a Child’s Mind
Following her rescue from the closet, Lauren spent months in a hospital being nursed back to health. After her physical health had stabilized, therapist Sondra Mahoney volunteered to work with Lauren. Only then did the cruel and sordid details of Lauren’s abuse begin to come to light.

“For six years, no doctor ever looked at her, and she healed by herself.”
http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6724/?id=6724&showID=1785

In Her Own Words
She survived the unthinkable. Now 18, Lauren bravely speaks out. She says her parents sexually and physically abused her daily. What would she say to her parents, who are now serving life sentences, if given the chance to confront them?

“When they were done with me, they would beat me and throw me in the closet. It was like torture.”
http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6725/?id=6725&showID=1785

The Good Mom
Sabrina and her husband adopted Lauren as an infant and raised her until she was 2, when they were forced to return her to her biological mother and her horrific fate. Meet the woman who has worked tirelessly to put Lauren’s life back together. And, Lauren is reunited with the neighbor who told the secret that led to her rescue, and the first officer on the scene. Plus, the reporter who interviewed Barbara in jail shares what she learned. Is Barbara remorseful?

“If I was abused like my daughter was, I would hate people. My daughter loves people, and that’s amazing to me.”
http://drphil.com/slideshows/slideshow/6726/?id=6726&showID=1785

Dr. Phil Message board about the Girl in the Closet aired on 7/16/2012
http://community.drphil.com/boards/?EntryID=31395

(Original Air Date: 02/06/12) It was a crime that shocked the world: 8-year-old Lauren was locked in a pitch-black closet, infested with lice and surrounded by human waste, held captive by her mother and step-father for six years. Denied food and water until near starvation, Lauren was finally discovered by a neighbor in 2001. She weighed only 25 pounds and stood just 3-feet tall. In a Dr. Phil exclusive, Lauren, now 18, speaks out about her horrifying experience. Among the atrocities: Lauren never saw grass or sunlight and was confined to cramped spaces such as toy boxes, closets, crawl spaces and car trunks. On the rare occasions she was released from her isolation, she says she was sexually and physically abused by her parents and her parents’ friends. Today, for the first time since her rescue, Lauren is reunited with the people who freed her. See their emotional reunion, and learn what Lauren would say to her parents -- who are now behind bars for life -- if given the chance. Then, learn how Lauren is coping and moving on in her new life with her adoptive mother Sabrina, a woman who raised Lauren until she was 2, then forced to return her to her birth mother and her horrific fate. Hear the tireless efforts Sabrina is making to help Lauren put her life back together. What are Sabrina's biggest fears for the daughter she has always felt was hers? Tune in to this must-see daytime television exclusive to find out the warning signs of child abuse, and learn what to do if you suspect a child is in danger. Warning: This episode contains disturbing and sexually explicit content. Viewer discretion advised.

Poster's note: I did a search on the monster perps, the girl's mother, Barbara Catherine Atkinson, then 30, and stepfather, Kenneth Ray Atkinson, then 33, and found this site that has numerous links to articles. It's painful to read what poor Lauren went through but at least the monsters are in jail for a long time.

Start here to read about Lauren's 6 year nightmare ordeal in the closet. I'll try to post more articles that recap the case:

http://search.lubbockonline.com/fast-elements.php?querystring=kenneth%20ray%20atkinson&profile=lubbock&type=standard

CPS says 8-year-old locked in closet underwent horrifying experience

Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2001
SUSAN PARROTT
Associated Press Writer

DALLAS {AP}— An 8-year-old girl who was locked in dark, lice-infested closet for at least four months with barely any food underwent a hellish experience and is lucky to be alive, a Child Protective Services official said Wednesday.





"This child underwent horrifying, horrifying treatment. It is one of the worst cases that we've ever been involved with in Dallas County," said Marleigh Meisner, a CPS spokeswoman.

"Most of the time when we see cases that are this horrific, the victims don't survive. We are so very, very grateful to the gentleman who reported this," she said.

Officials said Lauren Calhoun had spent much of her time in a 4-by-8-foot closet littered with human waste and soiled clothing.

Lauren — who weighed only 25 pounds — was in serious but stable condition Wednesday at Children's Medical Center of Dallas after surgery, where she was being treated for malnutrition and other injuries. Officials said the child's skin was peeling on her back and buttocks, her teeth were broken, and her stomach was bloated.

Citing the girl's right to privacy, Meisner declined to specify the nature of the surgery or say if the girl's life remains in danger.

"This child is very, very ill," Meisner said, adding that Lauren will be hospitalized for an extended period of time.

Police said the girl was three feet tall, when a child her age should be about a foot taller and weigh twice as much.

The girl's mother, Barbara Catherine Atkinson, 30, and stepfather, Kenneth Ray Atkinson, 33, were charged Tuesday with injury to a child and were being held in the Dallas County Jail. Atkinson also faces an outstanding charge of theft by check and probation violation in Ellis County.

Dallas County Magistrate Dorothy Shead recommended bond of $100,000 for each.

"It appears this suspected abuse may have been ongoing for several months or even years," said Hutchins Police Chief Gregory Griffin.

When officers arrived at the mobile home Monday evening, she was sitting at the kitchen table eating spaghetti.

"She was eating as fast as she could," Hutchins Police Officer Gary McClain said. He said the girl, who was filthy with matted hair, was talking and in good spirits.

"She probably thought coming to the dinner table was the highlight of her night," he said.

Lauren had the communication skills of a 3-year-old, according to court documents filed Tuesday seeking to remove the children from the home. A child abuse investigator described Lauren's life simply as "neglect of the most severe nature."

Five other children in the home, ranging from 22 months old to 11 years, were placed in emergency foster care and are under temporary CPS custody. Police said it did not appear they were malnourished, although the mobile home they lived in was filled with dirty clothes, trash and pet feces.

The child's siblings told investigators that Lauren was often locked in the closet for "eating too much and running away," officials said.

Meisner said the family had been reported to Child Protective Services at least twice before, in 1995 while they were living in Jasper County, and in 1996 while living in Wood County. In both cases, the family moved before CPS could investigate and remained undetected until this week, she said.

In one of those cases, an unidentified child was reportedly being kept tied to a bed, she said.

McClain said Kenneth Atkinson told a neighbor at the Pebble Creek Mobile Home Park about the girl Monday evening. Joe Rivers, the neighbor's husband, then went to the fire station and contacted police.

When police arrived, Atkinson was feeding Lauren. The girl's mother was gone.

Atkinson provided birth certificates and immunization records for the children, McClain said. Barbara Atkinson was arrested when she returned home around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Rivers said he had befriended the man and that their children played together at the mobile home park. But he didn't know until Monday that Lauren was living with the family.

Rivers said Kenneth Atkinson blamed his wife for the abuse, saying it continued in some form for 18 months.

"He said that she (the mother) couldn't control the child. But if you'd seen the child, what kind of trouble could she have caused?"

Police said they did not know if Lauren, or the other children, had ever attended school. Police had been called to the home several days earlier to investigate an unrelated child welfare case involving a neighbor family, but saw no signs of her.