A couple was arrested after authorities say a child suffered years of horrific torture and abuse in Fox Lake, including being repeatedly punched, struck by objects and told by his mother she would kill him and dump his body.
The Fox Lake Police Department responded around 9:30 a.m. Friday to a local business for a report of a child found bruised and bloody.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Laughlin said the child is 11 years old and ran away from his nearby home.
The child said his mother beat and abused him. An employee called 911 and officers arrived and took the child into protective custody.
His mother, Priscilla P. Marshall, 34, of Fox Lake, and the boy’s stepfather, Cody R. Marion, 35, of Fox Lake, were both arrested.
The victim has two brothers and two sisters, ranging from one to 13 years old, and they were also taken into protective custody, Laughlin said. The family lives in the 30 block of East Grand Avenue in Fox Lake.
The children were brought to the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center in Gurnee for forensic interviews.
The victim told investigators that his brothers go to school but Marshall does not let him go to school. He attended school through fourth grade but was pulled out for his fifth-grade year.
The 11-year-old had woken up to Marshall throwing things around the house and Marion doing the dishes, Laughlin said.
Laughlin said Marshall got mad and began hitting, pushing and punching the 11-year-old while telling him nobody loves him.
His two younger sisters were sitting on the couch crying and asking Marshall to stop. She punched the boy in the face, causing his nose to bleed, Laughlin said.
Marshall also grabbed a bottle of dish soap and poured the soap down the boy’s mouth and into his ear, causing him to cough up blood, Laughlin said.
The 11-year-old ran out of the house wearing nothing but underwear to seek help.
Laughlin said Marshall grabbed a knife and held it to her throat, threatening to harm herself, as the boy ran out of the house to a local flower shop where he asked the employee to call 911.
The 11-year-old boy told investigators the abuse began in approximately 2023 when Marshall smacked him across the face.
He went to school and was asked about the mark but he did not say anything because Marshall told him to lie. She would tell him not to tell anyone at school or she would go to jail, Laughlin said.
The boy was interviewed at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center in May 2024 for that incident and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
During his most recent interview, he described the ongoing abuse by Marshall, saying she would use extension cords, black metal spatulas and spoons and punches him in the face.
Marshall would make the boy write “you’re not a loved child, everybody hates you” in a notebook over and over as punishment, Laughlin said.
He would be forced to write in the notebook while kneeling between uneven floorboards in the home, Laughlin said. The boy would also have to take off his clothes when Marshall would hit him so it would hurt more.
Laughlin said Marshall has told the child that she was going to stab him in the back “33 times.”
Marshall additionally would make the older brother beat up the 11-year-old boy by strangling him, punching him in the chest, stomach and face and slamming him to the ground, Laughlin said.
Laughlin said Marshall threw scissors used to cut hair at the boy one time and they scratched him on the side of the head.
She punched the boy in the face approximately two months ago, causing his tooth to chip, Laughlin said.
Laughlin said Marshall also pours food items and toys all over the floor and makes the child clean it up with his hands.
Marshall would rip up the boy’s clothes and make him put his hands on the kitchen counter so she could strike him and would even spit in his face, the boy told investigators.
Laughlin said Marshall does not abuse the other children — only the 11-year-old boy.
The other children would get food such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut or Domino’s, while the 11-year-old would have to eat ravioli or canned food and would eat separately in the hallway from the rest of the family.
Laughlin said the boy has a bed in his room but is forced to sleep on the floor. He also cannot go outside except to take the trash out and get the mail.
Marshall tells the boy he is just the adopted child and that his brothers are her two favorite boys, Laughlin said. She also has allegedly said that he deserves to die and one day she will dump his body.
Marshall previously told a neighbor that the kids were just playing when he asked why he hears so much screaming from their house.
Laughlin said Marion sides with Marshall and witnesses her beating the victim.
He would also tell the boy he was going to get beaten by Marshall if the child did not listen and also tell the victim to “just take it” because he deserved it, Laughlin said.
The boy was treated at Northwestern Medicine Hospital in McHenry and preliminary observations show he had numerous bruises throughout his head, arms and legs along with dried blood in his nose and mouth and red welts across his chest, arms and legs.
He also had a dried, blue-ish soapy substance on his face and chest.
Fox Lake Police Department Sgt. Rick Howell said the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was notified and assisted. The children have been temporarily placed in the care of an extended family member.
Marion and Marshall are each facing charges of aggravated battery to a child under 13, two counts of domestic battery and child endangerment.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office has filed petitions to detain Marion and Marshall pending trial, arguing there are no conditions of release that protect the victim.
The two were transported to First Appearance Court on Saturday morning and remain held in the Lake County Jail pending detention hearings on Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon.