DEMING, N.M. (KRQE) – A Deming couple accused of locking their 6-year-old child inside a hot shed pleaded not guilty at their arraignment hearings Monday.
Bruce and Samantha Anglin are both charged with child abuse and will remain in custody at the Luna County Detention Center. According to court documents, Luna County deputies responded to a home at 12030 Pequeno Rd. NE on June 20 and found the child locked inside the shed.
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Deputies were able to get the child out and noted that the shed was “hot, dirty, dusty, and smelled of feces and urine,” according to court documents.
Inside the shed, deputies found a bucket on the floor, which the child had used as a toilet, and a sleeping area accessible by ladder in a small loft area with a cushion-type mattress and no blankets.
According to court documents, Bruce Anglin, the child’s stepfather, admitted that he locked the child in the shed the previous afternoon as punishment.
Samantha Anglin told investigators that she knew her husband had locked the 6-year-old child in the shed sometime between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on June 19. The mother claimed she tried to convince her husband to let the child out of the shed several times, but he allegedly refused.
The DA’s office said the child had visible bruises, a swollen eye, and told the medics that she had eaten a tortilla and diced onion the previous day.
The 6-year-old and her 2-year-old sister were placed in protective custody with the state.
