Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Handcuffed Over Hot Dogs: Child Chained to Basement Oil Tank After Mom Says He Ate Too Much | Crime Alert 6AM 01.21.26

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

In Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, Chazzity Candelario says she was trying to keep her son from eating too many hot dogs when she chained him to an oil tank. A Louisiana child abuse case is unfolding after a kindergarten age boy is found dead weighing less than a house cat, and investigators say his parents starved him to death. Human trafficking fears intensify in the search for a missing Texas teenager after a nonprofit group says it received a phone call believed to be from the girl herself. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace, breaking crime news now. Chasity Candelario says she was just trying to keep her son from eating too many hot dogs when she handcuffed the 11-year-old to an oil tank in the basement. After nearly 17 hours, the boy breaks free and calls 911. Straight out to Drew Nelson for more. That's right, Nancy. Prosecutors say what this 11-year-old describes is not an isolated incident. Lebanon County Pennsylvania District Attorney Pierre Hess Graf says the child told investigators this type of punishment is nothing new.

He sustains this type of treatment and has, and dates prior to this one, that he has not ever witnessed his siblings having the same punishments. Graff tells WGAL the incident began earlier that morning when the child was confronted over his eating habits. She starts braiding him that he ate too many hot dogs in the days prior. She saw it on the cameras and he was going to get his punishment. Graff says the punishment escalated as the child was taken into the basement. Grab the handcuffs and she actually handcuffed him to the fuel tank. Mom then leaves and goes about her day. The child was left there alone in the basement for hours.

Prosecutors say he eventually managed to get free but feared what would happen when his mother returned. He goes upstairs and he actually recuffs himself to his bed because the concern is when mom gets home and I'm not cuffed to the oil tank anymore, what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to my siblings? After nearly 17 hours without food, water, or a bathroom, prosecutors say the child was able to get a phone from a sibling and call 911. Police responded to the home and the child's mother later admitted she had restrained him. Chasaddy Candelario is being held in Lebanon County Prison with bail sit at $100,000. Thanks, Drew.

More crime and justice news after this. An Ohio nursing home resident dies from hypothermia after walking out an unlocked door over a night, later being found outside. Her family now filing suit as criminal charges move forward. WJW reports the civil lawsuit is pending in Cuyahoga County. Criminal charges against a nurse are also active. The case centers on what happened during a 10-hour gap when Alvera Mutey was unaccounted for. She was 84 years old, a patient at the Avenue at Warrensville Care and Rehabilitation Center. On the evening of December 23rd, 2024, Mutey was last seen in her. her room around 8.40 p.m. She used a wheelchair and could not walk without help. A nurse checked in

around 9.30 p.m. Muti was gone. No missing person report was made. No search was started. No supervisor or police were notified. The nurse later told police she assumed Muti had left with a family member. Even so, did you check if somebody came in to grab her? Yeah, I checked to see if someone had came in, I didn't, I didn't not see that. There was no visitor sign-out record. The exit door near Mewty's room was unlocked. It led to stairs and an outdoor patio. The door locked behind her and could not be opened from the outside. Around 12.36 a.m., the nurse says she tried calling family members. No one answered. She continued her shift. Around 6.30 a.m., the nurse told her supervisor she had not seen Mewty all night. A code purple was finally called. My name is Amber. I'm calling

from the avenue. I have a resident who eloped and she is missing. Police responded shortly after 7.30 a.m. Muti was found outside on the patio. She was lying on her back in a corner. She was unresponsive and cold to the touch. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead later that morning. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death environmental exposure with hypothermia. Mutey's brother arrived after learning she had been found. I never got a call at night. I got a call this morning. I don't know what they do there, okay? But something's wrong.

The nurse on duty was Amber Henderson. She was later indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of patient neglect, and one count of tampering with records. In addition to failing to report Mutie missing, prosecutors say she also falsified the required documentation. Henderson has pleaded not guilty. Her next court appearance is scheduled for January 27th.

The lawsuit names Henderson and the facility's owners as defendants. It alleges wrongful death, recklessness, and negligence. The filing claims the facility was understaffed and improperly secured and failed to protect a resident assessed as being at risk of elopement. The case is being handled in Cuyahogh County Common Pleas Court. A child abuse case is unfolding in Louisiana after a kindergarten-age boy is found dead weighing less than a house cat, and investigators say his parents starved him to death. Marley Paraloo was five. Investigators say he was bedridden and apparently never left the apartment where he lived with his family in Guy Marl, Louisiana. His parents are Marlin Paraloo, age 33, and Raynecia Young, 27. Both are charged with negligent homicide, cruelty to juveniles, drug offenses, and weapons violations. The parents are jailed in Ascension Parish with no bond. Charges could still be upgraded. Investigators say the case came to light on New Year's Day. Deputies were dispatched.

after the parents called 911 asking for help. They met law enforcement at a gas station off Highway 73. Deputies began life-saving efforts immediately. Ascension Paris Sheriff's Colonel Donald Capello tells WafB. They started CPR on the child, and within a couple minutes the child was transported to a local hospital where they continued to work on the child for about 40, 45 minutes before the child just passed away.

They couldn't save him. Investigators say he was severely malnourished. The child was 35 inches tall, weighed only 19 pounds. Investigators describe trash throughout the apartment, mattresses on the floor, and debris everywhere. Detectives believe the child died inside one of the bedrooms. This is probably the worst case of child neglect I've seen in my 34 years of law enforcement. Colonel Capello describes the dire physical condition of the child after death. To put it in perspective, when the corners come out, there are body bags for adults, and there's

body bags for infants, and this child, five years old, fitting an infant. infant body bag. Neighbors told WafB they had no idea what was happening inside the apartment. Several said the family had never asked for help. Three other children living in the home were removed by the state after the arrests. An autopsy is pending. Investigators say it is still unclear when the child last eight. The district attorney says the investigation is ongoing and will include determining whether any other adults knew about the child's condition. Thanks, Drew. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. and please join us for our daily podcast, crime stories, where we do our best to find missing people,

especially children, and help solve unsolved homicides. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an I-Heart podcast, guaranteed human.