UPDATE: Feb. 25 at 5:45 p.m.
According to the McCreary County Sheriff's Office, Billie Bolin was the legal guardian of Austin Carpenter.
Marcus Saunders, who identified himself as Carpenter's step-grandfather, explained that Carpenter's biological grandmother signed over custody to Bolin about seven years ago.
Saunders had not seen his grandson since.
“Justice for Austin is justice for any children from the past and future that this can happen to,” Saunders said.
He added Carpenter was a teen with an autism spectrum disorder.
LEX 18 also spoke to a relative to Bolin who did not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation. The source said multiple people had filed reports with the Department of Community Based Services as recently as September after seeing Carpenter, visibly malnourished and suffering a number of injuries.
“Everybody has said they’ve had enough. This incident draws the line,” Saunders said.
Saunders is currently planning a vigil for the 14-year-old, set to take place on Saturday morning.
The Commonwealth's Attorney, Ronnie Bowling, released the following statement on social media:
Original story:
Uniform citations filed by the McCreary County Sheriff's Office reported that two people were arrested on Monday and charged with first-degree criminal abuse in connection with the death of a 14-year-old in McCreary County.
The citations read that deputies responded to 7770 West Highway 92 on an "unresponsive not breathing 14-year-old male." Deputies reported to the sheriff's office that the teen was being taken to an area hospital.
When police arrived to the hospital, the teen had reportedly died. According to the citation, police saw "serious injuries on the child."
The Wayne County Coroner identified the teen as Austin Carpenter and told LEX 18 that his body was sent to the state medical examiner in Frankfort for an autopsy. Those results are pending, the citation reported.
During an investigation, the suspects, identified in the citation as Jeremy Ridner and Billie Bolin, "admitted knowledge of the injuries, and did not seek medical attention."
Ridner and Bolin have both been charged with first-degree criminal abuse, according to the citation. They are scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at 9 a.m.
