West Valley City, Utah — In a harrowing showcase of child neglect, a Utah father and his girlfriend have been arrested on charges of deliberately starving a 5-year-old girl, which led the child to eat non-food items as a method of survival. Law enforcement officials claim the accused left the young girl severely malnourished, forcing her into dire eating habits.
The suspects, identified as 32-year-old David Fivas and 44-year-old Jessica Harmes, are being held at the Salt Lake County Jail. Investigators have reported that the child was underfed to the point of consuming items such as Play-Doh, candle wax, and her own feces.
The crisis surfaced on August 30 after Fivas took the child to a local hospital, worried about her inability to gain weight. Medical evaluations revealed her to weigh as much as an average 16-month-old child, despite her nearly five years of age. After two weeks in hospital care receiving regular meals, the girl’s weight increased significantly, further supporting the starvation allegations.
Hospital staff diagnosed the girl with pica, a psychological disorder that involves eating objects that are not typically thought of as food. Fivas initially explained her condition by suggesting she had a tendency to overeat until sick and would secretly take food, which led them to install safety locks throughout their kitchen.
Through further review of the child’s worsening condition, detectives learned that since being placed in Fivas’ custody at 15 months old, her health had continuously deteriorated. Unlike another child in the home, she showed obvious signs of malnutrition, raising concerns about selective neglect.
During their investigation, authorities uncovered that Fivas and Harmes had implemented strict measures to restrict the child’s access to food, equipping storage areas with locks and reacting negatively to her efforts to eat.
The consumption of inedible objects can sometimes be a desperate attempt for survival seen in severe starvation cases, the investigators noted. They believe her distressing eating behavior was a survival strategy, contradicting the suspects’ claims of it being just a behavioral issue.
Additional reported forms of mistreatment included forcing the girl to sleep on the floor and not allowing her to attend school, which likely further isolated her from potential assistance outside the home environment.
At a court hearing, the prosecution argued that the child’s treatment by Fivas and Harmes was an act of intentional harm, not merely neglect. The judge denied bond for Fivas, and both defendants remain in custody with a hearing scheduled for November 24.
The children in the household have since been placed under state protection as the case against Fivas and Harmes progresses through the legal system. The shocking details of the case underscore a severe breach of parental duties and the importance of vigilance in child welfare protections.