MITCH COMER - 18 yo - /Accused: Mother Sheila Comer and stepfather Paul - GA

Malnourished Georgia teen says parents kept him locked away
By Katie Leslie

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A malnourished teenager, found wandering and confused in a California bus depot, told authorities he spent the last four years locked in a room at his parents’ Georgia home.

At 5 feet 3 inches tall, Mitch Comer weighed just 97 pounds; his skin nearly translucent. His younger sisters told authorities they hadn’t seen him in two years, though they lived in the same Dallas house. Neighbors said they didn’t know the family had a son.

Comer was discovered last week by a Los Angeles security officer who believed he looked too young and frail to be alone, authorities said. He told the officer his stepfather, Paul Comer, had put him on a bus in Mississippi on his 18th birthday, but he didn’t know why.

Paul and Sheila Marie Comer are in custody in Paulding County. They face six counts of child cruelty and one of false imprisonment. Their other children, girls ages 11 and 13, have been placed in state care.

Authorities say they are merely at the “tip of the iceberg” in investigating a bizarre case that could lead to several other charges. They would not elaborate further.

“We’ve still got a long, long road ahead of us,” said Cpl. Ashley Henson, spokesman for the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office, noting the agency is joined by the GBI and FBI in the investigation. “This is one of those things that will be on-going for weeks, if not months.”

It’s unknown whether the teenager has any physical or developmental disabilities. Monica Moore, an investigator with the Paulding County District Attorney’s office, described him in an interview with Channel 2 Actions News as small, very timid, but exceedingly polite. Moore accompanied him back to Georgia on Thursday.

Paulding County D.A. Dick Donovan told Channel 2 that his office struggled to find an agency willing to take the young man because he is legally an adult. But this week, a local family agreed to house the teenager, according to Channel 2.

“An 18-year-old is still a boy, especially when he’s been in circumstances in which this young man has been for the last few years,” Donovan said.

If Mitch Comer’s claims that he spent four years, or 1,460 days, locked away in a room are true, Donovan plans to pursue charges for each day of captivity, he said.

“I would be more than happy to go to the grand jury and ask them to indict for cruelty to children [on] 1,460 counts,” he said.

Reached by phone Thursday, Sheila Comer’s mother burst into tears. Diane Powell, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, said she hasn’t spoken to her daughter in more than a decade and last knew the family to be living in Ohio. Prior to that, the Comers lived in California and Arizona, she said. It’s unknown whether the family has relatives in California.

Powell said she feared her estranged daughter and husband abused their children, but she never had direct proof.

She’s never met her granddaughters and said she hasn’t seen her grandson since he was a toddler.

“They mistreated him something terrible,”she said between tears. “I got on her case about it and she disappeared from my life.”

Powell said she wants to bring her grandchildren home to Iowa.

The state Division of Family and Child Services couldn’t confirm or deny whether the agency has been called to the Comer’s home in recent years. A spokesman from Paulding County Public Schools could also not confirm whether the children have ever been enrolled in the school system.

Records show the Comers have had nearly two dozen address during the past two decades. It’s unknown how long the Comers have lived in their upscale Dallas home, but neighbors said the family has been there at least a few years.

Neighbors Dion Walker and Mea Smith, who live next door to the family, said their children had played with the Comers’ daughters over the years. Never in the two years they lived on Vivid Lane, however, had they seen Mitch Comer. They were shocked to learn their neighbors had a son.

“We had never seen this child,” Smith said. “Never. Never even signs of him at all.”

Walker said something seemed amiss with her neighbors, but she never imagined the allegations they now face. The women said they feel a measure of guilt about what they didn’t know.

“Maybe, when the young girls would stare at us, were they trying to say something?” Walker said. “Should we have noticed?”

— Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this report

Shelia Marie Comer
Paul Matthew Comer

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/crime-law/malnourished-georgia-teen-says-parents-kept-him-in/nSGng/


Even though the Mitch is now 18 the abuse has been going on for years and also involves his sisters 11 and 13. I felt it should be mentioned here. See article for video. I hope those monsters never get out of jail.
William

Ga. Couple Who Confined Teenage Son Sentenced
DALLAS, Ga. February 28, 2013 (AP)


A mother and stepfather who confined their teenage son to a bedroom for years with little food were each sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to cruelty to children and false imprisonment charges.

Under an agreement with prosecutors, Paul and Sheila Comer each will also serve 15 years on probation, were ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with minors and to forfeit all their assets, which will be put in a trust for their children, said Paulding County District Attorney Dick Donovan.

Their son, 18-year-old Mitch Comer, was found wandering a Los Angeles bus station on Sept. 11 and told police he had suffered years of abuse.

The plea agreement allowed the county to avoid the expense of a trial and kept prosecutors from having to call Mitch Comer and two younger Comer children as witnesses "to relive what was a pretty horrendous time in their lives," Donovan said.

Lawyers for Paul and Sheila Comer did not immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Mitch Comer stood 5-foot-1 and weighed 87 pounds when he raised the suspicion of a guard at the bus station. He told police his stepfather put him on a bus on his 18th birthday with a few hundred dollars cash and a list of homeless shelters.

He told detectives he was subjected to years of abuse after being taken out of school in eighth grade, confined to a bathroom and bedroom in their home in Dallas, Ga., and shielded from sunlight for at least two years.

Investigators testified at a hearing in October that the Comers sometimes made the teen kneel on the floor with his forehead against a wall, his hands behind his head and his feet lifted off the ground. Mitch Comer told investigators he sometimes had to remain in that position for six to eight hours, while Paul Comer said it was only 40 minutes at a time.

During the October hearing, a detective testified that the Comers conceded the teen had been confined to the room as punishment. Paul Comer also told investigators they sent Mitch Comer to Los Angeles because he wanted to be an actor.

The Comers' lawyers in October disputed many of the allegations against their clients and said at the time that there was another side to the story that would come out at trial. With the plea, though, there won't be a trial.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ga-couple-court-alleged-abuse-case-18617472

At least some justice. This can be moved to adjucated. I hope the kids get some psychological help, they will need it. At least they are all alive and have justice. William

Don't know what Georgia's laws are but I hope they have to serve the full 15 years.

Evil, evil, evil.

William, I agree with you, they need help. Starvation will also cause severe health problems later in life.

Too bad the monsters can't be starved while they are in prison. They should know what it is like to be hungry, worse than hungry.