The Misery Machine - The Case of Katie Koch + Joel Manke

Episode Date: September 7, 2023

This week, Drewby and Yergy head to Milwaukee to discuss the disturbing case of Katie Koch, a young mother who, along with her boyfriend, Joel Manke, kept her two sons prisoner in their home. The boys managed to escape and ran nude down South 71st Street before a gaggle of neighbors contacted the authorities. Some onlookers described the children as looking like cavemen. However, when police entered the home, they found a scene straight out of a horror film waiting for them inside.  Support Our Patreon For More Unreleased Content: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Join Our Facebook Group: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime Source Material: https://lawandcrime.com/crime/a-horror-movie-mom-and-boyfriend-charged-after-naked-bewildered-and-caveman-like-children-allegedly-escape-from-hoarding-house-covered-in-blood-feces-and-bruises/ https://www.cbs58.com/news/something-out-of-a-horror-movie-mother-man-accused-of-imprisoning-children-in-milwaukee-home https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23879810-koch-and-manke-complaint https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-manke-45b8726b/

Our top story tonight, Milwaukee mother and her boyfriend faced decades in prison after allegedly imprisoning her children in their home for years. On July 13, 2023, officers with the Milwaukee Police Department's 3rd District responded to several 911 calls regarding two boys running naked through the streets of the city's Fairview neighborhood. The boys later determined to be seven and nine years old were seen bolting down South 71st Street covered in blood and feces with red marks on their thighs. According to one Good Samaritan who had contacted emergency services, she said she saw a woman yanked one of the boys back inside what she assumed to be their home. One neighbor told police that one of the naked boys had been wandering down the sidewalk like a caveman. Another neighbor said they witnessed one of the children escaping through a broken bedroom window,

then standing on top of an AC unit. And finally, but unsuccessfully, trying to climb a fence. Yet another neighbor said they hadn't seen the children leave the house in some three years. In all, five neighbors had called in complaints about these children. According to neighborhood resident Christine Ader, who also called 911, quote, I'm not going to forget the way they looked when they came running out of that house. Never forget that. The look on their faces was pure bewilder.

They were just looking all around. They could not. I don't think they'd ever been outside before, end quote. They had never been outside before. If they have been, it's been a very long time. Christine Ader said it took a moment for her to process what she was seeing when two boys stumbled away from a usually quiet home across the street last Thursday. They were just walking different.

Their hair looked like it had never been brushed, never been cut. They were just, and they just, they didn't know the outside existed. The boys were naked and there was blood. Her husband called 911 while she kept eyes on the boys. When asked if she knew anything about her neighbors, Christine had this to share. What do you know about the couple who lived there? Absolutely nothing. Never saw, I never saw her or him ever.

By the time police arrived on the scene, a number of neighbors had come outside and were pointing them in the direction of the house located at 127 South 71st Street. They were all quite upset and wanted to make sure the little boys were just okay. One of the officers, Jonathan Cruz, was flagged down by Milwaukee Deputy Fire Chief Skylar Bellet. Together, the two made contact with the parents inside of the home. When they approached, they could hear a faint whimpering sound coming from inside.

The boy's mother was 34-year-old Katie Cock. According to Officer Cruz, Katie was flustered and anxious and appeared disheveled overall. When the officers first arrived, she tried to sneak out a side door. She was continuously pacing and swaying her body and appeared agile. According to Katie, her father had just died and her children had broken one of the windows. Officer Cruz then told the mother that he needed to see the children and made his way inside the residence. According to Officer Cruz, he walked into a terrible hoarding situation and he had a difficult time even seeing the floor. He observed the kitchen piled with trash and garbage. The living

room wasn't much better off. The smell of urine and feces filled the residence. Next to the bathroom was the children's room where a mound of trash and garbage was piled outside of the door. The door was halfway opened and a greater amount of urine and feces smell became present as Officer Cruz approached to take a closer look. The children's room had feces smeared all over the walls. There was also a latch to lock the door on the outside of the kids' room. Now, it was becoming more and more apparent that these kids might have been held captive in their own home. According to Katie, the substance on the walls of the room was clay, paint, and chocolate. Katie, you are not fooling anyone.

And Officer Cruz agrees. It is clearly poop. Officer Daniel Goodchild arrived on the scene. He took pictures of the two boys, as well as the ground floor and basement level of the dwelling. There was a dog located upstairs, and it's unclear whether or not it was seized by animal control, but based on the information we'll share later on in our story, it would be really really, reasonable to assume that it might have been. In addition, he observed Katie placing a diaper on one of the boys.

When questioned about the apparent injuries on her children, which again consisted of blood, feces and red marks all over their thighs, Katie allegedly grabbed her sons by both hands and stated that she was scared. Meanwhile, additional officers arrived on the scene and removed the seven-year-old boy from the residence. As Katie gathered clothes for each of her sons, she could be heard saying, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so afraid. This begs the question, what was Katie so afraid of?

Was she really in danger? Or was she scared because she got caught? As the officer left the home, Katie's boyfriend, 38-year-old Joel Mankey, was standing in the driveway. He told the officers that Katie and her two boys had been living with him for some three and a half years, and went on to describe himself, in his words, as something like a stepdad to the children. According to the reports, Joel allegedly went on to admit that he was the one that boarded up the window to the children's room to keep the children from bothering the nosy neighbor. He was not clear on who this neighbor was or what they did to be so nosy. He also told police, Katie uses the latch to lock the kids in the room overnight to keep them from wandering due to the boys alleged autism.

It's unclear whether or not the boys actually were autistic or if they were suffering from developmental impairments due to the extreme neglect they suffered. Now, according to Joel, he had never seen Katie bring either of the boys to a doctor, and neither of them had ever attended school. While Katie was responsible for her kid's hygiene as well as putting them to bed at night, Joel claimed that he allegedly provided meals and other basic caretaking functions for them, and he said that they called him dad. Now, both Katie and Joel were read their Miranda rights, and they agreed to be interviewed. According to Joel, he knew how the children were living was not right, but he felt forced to pick his battles with Katie so as to avoid arguments with her.

He also stated that he never contacted police or CPS to report the children because he doesn't believe in doing that to family members. During Katie's interview, she claimed that her children were homeschooled, but they just lacked a proper curriculum. She also admitted that she didn't want the boys to, and I quote, lose the stability they have, as if proper schooling was standing in the way of her children. flourishing. Furthermore, what stability was she even referring to? The only constant thing in these

children's lives was them being covered in filth. She also admitted that she screwed up and that she knew they deserved better. Having an improper homeschool curriculum was a vast understatement, say the least. According to Katie, one of the boys could trace letters and read small words, while another was learning how to put sentences together in proper form. She advised Officer Cruz that the schooling mostly consisted of using educational apps on their tablets and that she had recently purchased hooked on phonics. Meanwhile, both boys were taken to the hospital where both of their heads were shaved. Their hair was matted, and again, Kate and feces. When this was brought up to Katie, she was fine with this and claimed the boys just needed haircuts anyway. She stated that the last time the boys had been

bathed was five days prior. She claimed that she regularly bathed her sons, but admitted that the bathing wasn't as thorough as it should have been. She also admitted that she knew her home was not suitable for habitation. Again, a completely gross understatement considering everything we've already outlined prior. In the end, she wrote both of her boys a three-page apology letter. If convicted, I wonder if the judge will take this to heart while he throws the book at her. Thoughts and prayers, Katie. Katie Cock and Joel Mankey were both arrested and faced multiple charges.

As of the date of this recording, Katie stands accused of two felony-cony, counts each of chronic neglect of a child, false imprisonment, and two misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child. Her boyfriend, Joel, stands accused of two counts each of chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment. They're being held in the county jail in lieu of $30,000 cash bail for Katie and $6,500 cash bail for Joel. According to their public defender, they have no way of paying this bail. They're slated for their first court appearance in July 26, 2023. If convicted of their charges, the maximum penalties include $120,000 in fines and 42 and a half years in prison for each of them. Katie would also face an additional $20,000 and 18 months in prison for her misdemeanors.

The boys are now in protective custody and out of that nightmare home, thankfully. According to Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis, quote, It's really terrible. It's like something out of a horror movie. The children were essentially confined to their room for much of their lives, and the door had a latch on the outside and the windows were boarded shut. I have finally been able to view videos and photographs of the home. And I can tell you that almost every inch of their walls was covered in human feces." It's really terrible. It's like something out of a horror movie. A child witness described them as acting like Keebman, like they had never seen the sun before. These children

have been permanently damaged from their mother's actions. They are completely uneducated. They are not not potty trained, even at their agents, they are essentially at this point unable to function in society. This case is clearly difficult to listen to, and we'll be sure to keep an eye out for updates as they become available. As we have many friends and listeners in the Milwaukee area, this case is important to us and we want to see it through. We'll have the full seven-page criminal complaint available for you to review in our show notes. And we always say, if you see something, say something. And I commend the neighbors living on South 71st Street, because, unlike many standards we cover on this channel, they did exactly that. However, I ask myself, just how well

do you really know your neighbors? This had been going on for three whole years. It really makes you wonder just what kinds of horrors could be lurking behind closed doors.