38-year-old mother and her boyfriend, who organized fight nights between her three children, shot them with an air rifle while locked, and forced them to eat leaves and bugs, were charged
Missouri – In a deeply unsettling case out of Missouri, law enforcement has arrested a 38-year-old mother, identified as C. Hayford, and her boyfriend, identified as J. Menees, after authorities say the couple subjected her three children to years of severe abuse and neglect. Hayford and her boyfriend, Menees, were taken into custody this week and are being held without bond after police executed a search warrant at their home and found the children in distress.
Hayford is now facing a long list of criminal charges, including two counts of kidnapping, one count of se-ual abuse, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of abuse or neglect of a child, and two counts of domestic assault. Menees has been charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of armed criminal action, two counts of abuse or neglect of a child, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, and three counts of domestic assault.
According to prosecutors, the couple inflicted horrific mistreatment on the children over an extended period. Authorities say the abuse included locking the children in a “chicken pen” and shooting them with an air rifle loaded with BBs, forcing them to “eat bugs, leaves,” and staging disturbing “fight nights” where the siblings were made to fight each other. The case came to light in December 2025, when an adult guardian came forward with grave concerns. The guardian told police that Hayford’s three children — ages 13, 14, and 17 — “walked into her house” over the summer and “were begging for food.” According to affidavits filed in court, the children had walked about four miles to reach the guardian’s home because they were so hungry.
The affidavits also state that Hayford offered to trade her children to the guardian in exchange for a phone and phone plan valued at approximately $231, or roughly $77 per child. To formalize the arrangement, Hayford allegedly signed power of attorney over to the guardian, and the children moved into the guardian’s home in July 2025, although they still spent time with Hayford and Menees. The phone plan payments continued from July through December 2025. When the guardian took the children to see a doctor, they were described as severely underweight. The doctor also noted that the children had never been enrolled in school or educated, and, according to the guardian, could not read or write.
Once police began speaking with the children, disturbing stories of abuse emerged. The 17-year-old reportedly told investigators she had once been made to “cut her hands and spread blood on the trees” near their home. When the guardian confronted Hayford about this, the mother allegedly explained it was “because of something going on with the animals.” Another shocking claim involved Hayford forcing one of the children to “eat caulking.” The same affidavit also included an account of Hayford grabbing a teen “on the breast area” and telling her, “I made it so I can grab it.”
Police allege that on multiple occasions, Hayford and Menees locked the children in a “chicken pen” and shot at them with an air rifle, tightening the enclosure before firing. Investigators further say that Menees once pointed a real gun at the 14-year-old, telling him he was going to “blow his brains out,” and on another occasion, he allegedly “almost suffocated him” by putting him in a headlock. According to the affidavits, Menees also punched and slapped the same boy regularly, while Hayford reportedly called him “worthless” and frequently cursed at him. The 13-year-old also described threats involving a firearm, telling investigators: “I hope he doesn’t shoot me because I have a long life to go.”
Beyond the physical abuse, the emotional and psychological toll on the children was severe. The 14-year-old described going through what he called a “great depression” and said he “ate bugs, leaves, and would steal food” simply to survive while living with Hayford and Menees. He also told police that both adults forced him to use drugs, including methamphetamine, made him drink alcohol like Jack Daniels, and eat marijuana edibles.
Law enforcement also described deplorable living conditions at the residence, noting that the home was very dirty, with feces on the floor and beds. The 14-year-old said that when he first went to the guardian’s home, “his face was covered in feces and that it was cat and dog feces.” For what the couple called “entertainment,” the affidavits say they held “fight nights” where the children were forced to fight one another. Hayford and Menees are both scheduled to appear in court this month as their case moves forward. For now, both remain in custody as authorities continue gathering evidence and prepare for prosecution.
