Little kid is in the window. The amount of flies, it makes you think there is a body in the house. >> For Long Beach Police Department, if you're inside, make yourself known. >> The kid was locked inside his room. >> Not better inside. >> Why didn't you want to take him out with you? >> Because he's being really [ __ ] and I knew it was going to be great the whole time. >> Saturday, April 22nd, 2023. Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The alert reached police after neighbors noticed something unusual at a home on Mississippi Avenue. A small child, dirty and covered in insects, was desperately banging on the front window trying to get someone's attention. It was an extreme case that would set a precedent in Northwest Florida. I'm Tyler and this is your daily dose of crime. >> Little kid is in the window >> banging on the window of 47. He's got a plate of food in front of him. >> The amount of flies in this room in this window is rid. It makes you think there's a body in this house. >> Where's the child? >> He's in my front seat right now. Doors are locked. We were able to push the window open and he's just sitting there so we scoop him up real quick. We're cleaning him. He's he's covered in either bites or burns. >> Did you take pictures? >> I did. Okay. >> Um we have EMS coming to check him out right now. He's got like either a burn on his leg or really bad infected bite or or something. He's super dirty. Super super dirty. >> He's got like ant bites in between his fingers like in the webbings. >> We are 1015ing these parents the moment they get here. >> We need to get all the facts before you decide what you're going to do. We need to clear the house. >> So, I'm gonna go through the window and then I'll go through the window and come through the door. >> How many people live here, guys? There's two. >> What? >> There's two people here. >> Yeah. >> How big is this dog? >> Uh, it's a pretty good size boxer. Does he mean, let me call you back. I I don't know. I don't interact with him at all. >> I don't think the dog's Let me call you. >> I've come out here a few times when he was out here, but >> this is the I can't say for sure. >> Going into the area. >> This is the food >> outside though. I could >> He's not outside. And I just want to help out. >> Okay. >> For Long Beach Police Department, if you're inside, make yourself known. >> Hey, Dustin. No. >> Yeah. >> Grab my axe. >> Why? >> The door is locked. >> What do you mean the door is locked? >> The interior. He's The cable's locked inside his room. >> You got it locked from the inside? >> Yeah. Can you grab my axe, please? >> Uh, just come out here. The lock was placed on the outside, meaning the child had been deliberately shut in. Inside, the walls were smeared with feces. Piles of used diapers were stacked in a corner, and the insect activity was so intense that it created an immediate health hazard. A 2-year-old boy had been trapped there for hours with no way to get out to call for help. For investigators, this would mark a turning point. What may have been seen as abandonment now rose to the level of aggravated child. Since the intentional confinement not only exposed the boy to filth, but stripped him of any escape or outside contact. >> Neighbors called in said the mom and dad left the kid at home alone. >> Hey baby. >> So we show up and he's like literally just chilling in the window like 100 flies all over him. Just >> disgusting. He's got like some it looks like maybe some bites or something on his leg. His leg's pretty swoll. He's got like some ant bites and in between his fingers. Just like stupid [ __ ] where the parents are. >> They're not home. >> Well, I know I know that part. >> All right. So, we'll have him transported just to make sure he's good. Look, he's smiling. >> Yeah, he's good. Yeah, we don't know how long. >> They said this morning. >> No. So, the neighbors said they've been gone for maybe 20 or 30 minutes now. >> Okay. >> But they said this is like a common occurrence for them. Uh uh. Do you got a >> You got a higan? >> Yeah. You want to get in the house? >> I'm about to get in this house. >> Okay. >> Oh, yeah. You do? >> Yeah. You want to just go through the window and then I'll be >> I can't. The freaking kid was locked inside the room. Hang on. Let's Let me make sure that >> Sergeant's okay with it. >> Are you? >> No, we're not going in right yet. >> Okay. >> There's no suspects. We don't suspect right now that there's anybody else inside. >> Dude, the amount of insect activity definitely could. There could be. >> All right. We're going have to hold up. Something's getting in there. Where's the dog? >> Yeah, we haven't heard the dog. >> Uh, do we know their names? No, we don't. >> Do they know their name? >> They left. They They just apparently they left in a blue car. Lock the dead bolts and bolts back. >> We're going to take him to the ambulance. Get him clean. >> Okay. I need somebody to stay with him. >> Okay. >> And if they start taking clothes off and you see injuries or anything suspicious, we need to photograph. >> Do you want me to stay with him? I'll get somebody else over. Hey. >> We're going to go change in the back of the truck. >> We're going with you. >> Okay. Hi, baby. I'll be riding with EMS. We're going to be transporting the child to Port Beach Medical Center. So, there was a bowl. It had old old stale cold French fries, uh, a chicken tender, like a old McDonald's chicken nugget on top of some gummy bears. And then there was, uh, like rice on top of all of it, and then bacon, like a strip of bacon, and it was >> covered in in flies. And he's just sitting there just eating out of it. Banging on the window. Locked in his bedroom. >> Oh, fat guy in a little space here. >> Where' that food go? >> It's out here. >> Okay, there we go. We can unlock it and then put it back. There you go. >> Police department, if you're in here, make some known. [Applause] Police permit. >> Not better inside. See your [ __ ] wallet or an ID or purse laying around? >> Last name Parer. Papa India Romeo India November Golf Echo Romeo. First name Tyler T Y L E R. I do not have a date of birth yet. Oh, we got a little puppy in here. Hi. Oh, we got a bunch of little puppies in here. 12 for one. Copy. Another name. Last name Atkinson. A T K I N S O N. First name Diamond. D I A M O N D. Do not have a date of birth for you yet. >> With the child already in the hands of medical staff and in route to the hospital, officers move through the rest of the home. What they found would confirm their worst fears. Rooms and extreme disorder. Garbage piled all throughout and the stench so strong that it pointed to long-term neglect. In the kitchen and living room, rotting food mixed with small objects that pose choking hazards to a child this young. Amongst the filth, officers locate documents identifying the residence as 21-year-old Tyler Peringer and Diamond Atkinson. That discovery would erase any doubt the home had not been abandoned. It was occupied by two adults who had chosen to lock their toddler inside in unsanitary conditions. An act that the law views as aggravated abuse and neglect. >> Remember we found him in you want to run through? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> That's the food. >> There's a dead bird right here. >> Yeah. That's the food that was in the bed that he was left with. >> Are you on? Yeah, I'm not. >> Unbeknownst to me, there's some puppies right here. >> I didn't see those first time. >> Hi. >> They look better taken care of than the child. >> Oh, you guys are so cute. They sleeping. One's stuck underneath the blanket. >> Yeah, little white one. The white one. >> A Oh, they're so cute. They're little >> um as just general uncleanliness. >> Yeah. >> Nastiness. Uh, you can tell that kids been sitting in there with dirty, nasty diaper or diarrhea filled diapers. Little puppy in here. This is obviously their room. >> Hi, puppy. >> Food and stuff stacked up when they're sitting there. >> Hi, puppy. >> This is the room the kid was in. So, it's just the doororknob >> was locked on from the outside. >> Yeah, the doorork knob. >> So, they had the >> So, fees on the inside of the door >> feces. So, but they change they put the lock on the outside of the door. >> Yeah, they would have had to reverse it. >> Okay. >> Uh yeah, that and then >> another one just sitting down there. >> Oh my gosh. >> And then this is where he was. And PC's all over the wall and curtains. More diapers under there. Those might not be dirty. Okay, that looks like a poop. Um, I don't know what this is about. I tried to open this and I feel like it's all going to fly out on me. So, there could be a dead body in there. I don't know. All this medication I took as a picture. >> So, that's the only one that's open of this side. That's not open. Okay. >> This one might be opened. This one I don't even think has been opened. Yeah, it is. But this is supposed to be two a day. >> Sure. >> From January 23rd. There's no way that, you know, he's taking that the way it's supposed to. This was February 15th. Supposed to take two capsules three times a day. >> Wow. >> Um, and he's supposed to be two capsules by mouth with meals and one with snacks for whatever he's got going on. So, obviously not taking his medication the way he's supposed to. I don't know how you're going to get a 2-year-old to take pills, but >> Oh, well, that's what that was going to be my next question is >> I don't know. >> How is Usually, it's a liquid that they prescribe. >> Upon closer inspection, it would be revealed numerous bottles of psychiatric medication. Most were unopened or unused despite requiring daily intake. And for investigators, this would raise another layer of concern. Not only were treatments being neglected, but the parents may be facing untreated mental health conditions which made them incapable of basic child care. The combination of intentional confinement, extreme filth, and abandoned treatment regiments painted a troubling picture. The boy wasn't just neglected that day. He was growing up in an environment of instability and risk. These findings would solidify the decisions to file aggravated child abuse charges while immediately placing the child under the state protective custody. Hey, Diamond. >> There's a Diamond and >> Tyler. >> Tyler. All right, Diamond. Go ahead and put your hands behind your back. >> I'm Diamond. >> You're a Diamond. Oh, Diamond. Go ahead and put your hands behind your back. >> Drop that. >> You and Tyler both are under arrest for aggravated child abuse, aggravated child, and multiple other charges forthcoming. >> Do you have any questions? Your child is going to be remanded into the custody of DCF pending a investigation and a family member to go and uh check them out. We got to go out the back or is there outback? >> Do you mind if we walk them through to our cars or you want us to bring a car around? >> We can go that way. Right there. Straight out. Straight out that way. >> Let's go. >> We get positive IDs. I don't know if he's got a wallet on. >> I do. I do. >> Yeah. Get it over here, man. Who are you guys with up there? >> Uh, that's her sister. >> Okay. Who's got the keys to the car? >> Uh, I should. >> You want me to give those to your sister or her sister or you want to take them with you? >> Uh, I prefer taking >> You just want to leave her stranded here? >> Uh, no. Sure. Dad's coming. >> Okay. >> Why didn't you want to take him out? >> Let me ask you. I have, Listen, I have a kid of my own, so I understand that toddlers are a lot to handle, but but why didn't you want to take him out with you? because he was being really [ __ ] and I knew he was going to be crying the whole time. It was really hot outside and last time we took him and he was just he got hot. We had to leave early and he was crying and screaming and he got tired and it just we couldn't do anything and nobody was willing to take him. So, we thought we could leave him for a bit and it was it was my fault that we left him because I, you know, I suggested that we didn't let him. And we were originally going to take him to him and he was just crying all morning. I was just like, I we can't bring him. You know, the same thing was going to happen. And Tyler tried to turn me around twice and he did. It was my fault. He tried turning around twice and said, "No, I'm supposed to go back home. like this is stupid. And I said, I know, but we're we're not going to get another day out. We haven't been out in weeks. We haven't been able to enjoy ourselves. And my dog just had 13 puppies, and 10 of them died because she wored them. And we were really stressed out. So, I was like, "No, we're going to have a day out. We're going to have one day where we can just enjoy ourselves." And that was um it was my fault. Um, we noticed a lot of uh like amount of diapers on top of his changing table and a PC's cover diaper that was in like a little bookshelf. >> I mean, if there wasn't one there, it shouldn't have been there. I mean, it definitely shouldn't have been there, but I don't remember putting anything on the ground within his gra. If anything, he must have died with. But the diapers then should have been taken care of. We just changed him and then put it there and then he take him out of the room and he just plays and play his kids another day. Okay. >> During questioning, Atkinson revealed something that went beyond her words. The way she spoke of her son reflected a clear detachment from the maternal bond. She described him as an obstacle in her daily life, framing abandonment as a practical decision rather than an act of extreme danger. This lack of recognition of the child's suffering was deeply troubling to investigators who saw not just neglect, but a lack of empathy likely to repeat itself without court intervention. Prosecutors noted this as key evidence of intent, exposing a mindset where the child's well-being was never the priority. >> You want water or anything? >> I'm okay. >> Who do you currently work at? >> Carpentry. >> Okay. >> Tyler, do you know why you're here right now? Can you tell me why you're here? >> It was a bit of a bad decision. Thinking thinking I slept at home for about 3 hours. >> Can you tell me why you guys left him at home? Um my uh dog within the past two weeks gave birth to 13 puppies and uh we we were like we were ready for it since we had our son and it was got to be close but it was she ate one and then we were so stressed about it. It was like we can't we can't leave her alone. We have to be this routine. And so about 3 weeks now and she's been inside all day every day. Well, you know, I'm at work. I come home, I take over so she can pass out. We're just back and forth. So, we, you know, like we need to get out and we talked to some people like, "Can you come get No, my stepfather or ex my father figure, he went to uh Tallaladega NASCAR and my mother's home isn't in like a spot to where he can go hang out for a day." Um, and her father isn't, you know, he he had stuff to do today, so he couldn't do it. And I'm like, well, we're going to pick up her sister. Might as well just, you know, get him his medicine, get him his nib, get him fed. I mean, we were up since 6:00 in the morning getting ready. And I thought he could just jump from take a nap, play, and we'll be well, technically an hour away. And uh I think it was just it sounded reasonable being desperate I guess. But you know I mean we were driving and we were waiting in traffic and we debated. We sat there talked to each other and you know maybe we should wait another weekend but we have stuff to do every other weekend. And it just felt like that was it's just easier to curse at yourself you know for what you already did. But yeah, it was just bad call. >> I did notice that the door handle on the door was locked from the outside >> in his bedroom. >> Yes. >> You did you lock him in before you left? >> We did. Yeah. He comes out in the middle of the night and we had to switch it. Uh I was having a hard time before, but cuz at first we would just put that baby kit. We had one in the kitchen. uh wooden one, but he just ended up taking it down at like two in the morning. So, we ended up just switching around. Uh I didn't think it was bad considering it's either that or finding him in the kitchen, you know, in the middle of night. So, >> okay. >> In his statement, Paringer tried to downplay the situation, calling it a bad decision, but his own words would make it worse. He admitted the door was locked on purpose to stop the child from wandering off, and that confirmed the confinement was intentional and not accidental. His logic would reveal a contradiction, a supposed protective act that turned into the greatest danger to the boy's safety. Beyond excuses, Tyler's responses showed a pattern of denial. He minimized the boy's condition, blaming marks on mosquito bites or playing in the yard while sideststepping the health risks of the filthy environment. For investigators, the evasions became revealing, showing a father who was unwilling to take responsibility while relying on weak justifications to soften his culpability. I noticed he had like some some bites on him. >> Yeah, somebody we were outside. Uh there's lots of mosquitoes. I got a weer on the front uh from my coworker. Um cuz there's just bugs everywhere and there's little prickly so he he he just gets cut up sometimes. I remember one time he he ended up falling when we were outside on the concrete and busted up under his face. So it's just stuff that walls. >> Okay. Why did you guys make the decision to leave him instead of taking him? >> Well, when we take him, you know, when we go places, he can't end up, you know, just touching anything. And it it's easier to take him to like Walmart when we go out cuz we have to go every other day. Just not not too constant. It's usually a couple times a week. But, uh, it was just seemed easier, you know, because he didn't want to, I'm not going to say like participate, getting ready, but it was just being, you know, very upset and he didn't want to go anywhere. And I we're out front working on cleaning the car. She's coming back and forth taking my Tupperware from lunches back inside. And he just didn't want to he didn't want to go. I mean just I cleaned his seat out and I was like we can get ready to go and we waited a whole hour but and we left around 1:20 because you know we weren't going to wait any longer. >> Is he does he diagnosed with anything? >> Uh yes. Yeah. Like in his second month of life he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. >> When's the last time he has medicine? >> This morning. >> Okay. We do it every morning and she does it when I'm at work. I'm gone before she gets home. Okay. What did you guys do while you were away from the house? >> Uh, we went to the store, you know, just to hang out. We had to walk our way and, you know, we walked, we ate, and then we were heading on our way back when we got a phone call from her father saying, "You need to go, you know, talk to some cops and go see your son." And, you know, he didn't give us too much information. He just said, you know, you guys you guys up explain to me why. and we told him and he was like, "Yeah, you should have just waited it out." And I mean, it's easier just to say that. I just I don't know. >> The case of Tyler Paringer and Diamond Atkinson would shock the Fort Walton Beach area, not only for the appalling conditions their son was discovered in, but also because it highlighted how two young adults could abandon the most basic responsibility, ensuring the safety of a 2-year-old child. Both would be arrested and charged with aggravated child and aggravated ne felonies in Florida that can carry up to 15 years in prison. After their arrest, bail would be set at $10,000 each, sparking debate in the community about whether that figure reflected the seriousness of the case. Meanwhile, the child was placed in the custody of Department of Children and Families, where medical and psychological specialists began the work of repairing the damage of an ordeal that at such an early age would leave longlasting scars.