Parents' sick lie to police after dumping teenage son's body
In a bizarre twist, the boy's sister was allegedly held captive and 'shot in the eye' by her parents' roommates.
A mum and dad have been arrested after they admitted to dumping their 16-year-old son's body after first claiming he had run away.
Sick pair Amber-Leah Valentine and Jon Imes called police on February 25 to report that their son had fled their home in Mohave County in the US state of Arizona.
Deputies were told the boy had last been seen a day earlier at around 10am
Three days later, officers were again called when a dead body was found wrapped in a blanket behind a stone wall, according to a statement from Mohave County Sheriff's Office.
The identity of the deceased was unknown, and police handed the body to the Mohave County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
Daughter 'held captive, shot in eye' in strange twist
Then, on March 2, Valentine called the Sheriff's Office and reported that she had just freed her 14-year-old daughter.
The girl was allegedly being held captive by Valentine's roommates, 34-year-old Richard Pounds and Shioban Gujda, 39.
Deputies arrived and transported Valentine and the girl to a nearby hospital for treatment.
It was then that Valentine told the officers that she and her husband, 41, had discarded their son's body in the spot where the deceased male had been found.
She reportedly confessed that the teenager was already dead when they falsely reported him as a runaway.
Investigators then questioned Imes, who also admitted to disposing of his son's body and lying to police.
Detectives also spoke to the teenage girl, who claimed she was shot in the eye with a BB gun by Pounds.
"The female juvenile indicated that she had been shot in the eye with a BB gun by Richard Pounds and provided additional accounts of abuse in the home," Mohave County Sheriff's Office said in a statement:
"Arizona Department of Child Safety was contacted, and the juvenile is currently receiving medical treatment at an undisclosed location."
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She reportedly informed police of several instances of child abuse at the home.
Both Valentine and Imes were taken into custody at Mohave County Adult Detention Facility for felony abandonment and concealment of a dead body.
Police searched the home with a warrant and took Pounds and Gujda for questioning.
Pounds was arrested and booked for felony child abuse and aggravated assault, while Gujda was released pending further investigation.
Officials are expecting additional charges as the investigation continues.
The autopsy report detailing the 16-year-old's cause of death is pending.
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