The Misery Machine - The Case of the Lydick Horror House

Starting point is 00:00:00 October 11th, 2023 was just your typical early autumn day in Clayton, Indiana. The temperature only reached 65 degrees Fahrenheit, making for perfect hoodie weather. The small town of just under 1,000 people, situated just 26 miles west of the state's capital of Indianapolis, was a place where things moved more slowly and away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Prime is low here, falling 8.8 points below the national average for violent crimes, and 6.7 points below the national average for property crimes. So when something shady happens, people know about it and they speak up, like they did thankfully in today's story.

Starting point is 00:00:41 On that fall day in 2023, Sergeant Josh Noren of the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to a rented mobile home located off of West U.S. Highway 40 with regards to a welfare check on a 10-year-old boy living inside the trailer. As the victim is a juvenile, we'll be referring to him by the name V1, which has been used for him in all official documents. According to reports, the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department received an anonymous phone call from a concerned citizen who visited the home a weekend prior.

Starting point is 00:01:10 According to the caller, the family was living in less than ideal conditions, and they were not lying. So when Sergeant Noren arrived at the trailer, he was immediately hit with the overwhelming smell of animal waste. As he approached the front door, the smell grew heavier and heavier, and he observed large amounts of what appeared to be dogfurt, feces leading up to the trailer. He finally made it to the door. He was greeted by the tenant,

Starting point is 00:01:33 38-year-old Lindsay Joe Lydick. Sargent announced the nature of his surprise visit and was granted access into the trailer to perform the aforementioned welfare check. As Sergeant Norrin answered, he was greeted by the source of the piles that lined the trail leading up to the home, a large Great Dane, as well as four cats. He scanned the trailer, observing exactly what the anonymous caller was so concerned about. Heard the report, and I quote, in all caps. Entire trailer is covered in animal urine feces and other debris. Again, the collar wasn't lying. The smell must have been enough to peel paint. Sergeant Noren observed what was described in official documents as large amounts of animal feces throughout the residence.

Starting point is 00:02:16 According to the sergeant, the floor was littered in debris that included dirty clothing, random household items, and basically your standard hoard. Lindsay's roommate and brother-in-law, 36-year-old Cole Byron Lydick had allegedly been sleeping on the couch in this mess for about a year. Now, at this point, Sergeant Norrin made contact with V-1, who thankfully was healthy and without any injuries, but that's where the good news ends, unfortunately. The 10-year-old had been sleeping in Lindsay's bedroom with her, and the conditions were probably worse than there than the living room, in my opinion, and here is why. The floor was covered in moldy clothing, clutter, and cat poop.

Starting point is 00:02:53 If there was mold on the clothes, there was definitely mold. on everything else and they were sleeping in it. Now, when you're exposed to too much mold in your environment, whether that be your home or your place of work, you can develop this lovely condition called mold toxicity and it sucks. I should know. Mycotoxin exposure can look like allergies. You can end up with a runny nose, rashes, itchy skin eyes,

Starting point is 00:03:16 asthma-like symptoms like shortness of breath, the kind of stuff that actually resembles allergies, but it can do even worse things, such as cause cognitive decline, muscle pain or weakness, unexplained weight loss or gain, numbness or tingling, metallic taste in your mouth, vertigo, tinnitus, digestive issues that include food intolerance, severe fatigue, changes in your mood, hair loss, dehydration, and my favorite, horrible inflammation. Now here in New England, a lot of the buildings have some degree of water damage, and I've spent my fair share of time in apartments with visible black mold that would not go away.

Starting point is 00:03:54 and a workplace that was built in a repurposed 19th century textile mill. Even though I work from home now and am out of exposure, I have severe symptoms to this day. It's really hard to walk back once it's in your system, much like Lyme disease, which I also deal with. Now, I'll get off my soapbox for now, but the mold didn't just end there. It was in the kitchen as well.

Starting point is 00:04:17 The refrigerator was full of old moldy food, and when Sergeant Noren opened the door, he was greeted by a swarm of what he described as flies and now. The only positive thing about the kitchen was the fact that they still had running water in some food in the cupboards. The bathroom was just as bad, according to the sergeant, the bathroom had animal feces and urine in it, and it appeared the shower had not been used recently. At this point, Sergeant Nooran was done, and we don't blame him. He exited the trailer and did exactly what law enforcement should be doing in all of the cases we cover.

Starting point is 00:04:50 Called the Indiana Department of Child Services, or DCS for short, and he relayed to them what he observed. Due to the condition of the home, DCS promptly sent two different case managers who paid visits to the trailer. The first to arrive was family case manager Theam, who parroted Sergeant Neron's findings. The deep dive showed that the trailer was a living nightmare for all of those unfortunate enough to be living inside. The case manager noted that the home was generally unkempt, which is the understatement of the year. The front door couldn't be open completely because of how much junk was propped up behind it. Floor was threadbare and made up of that really thin old-style carpet that just shreds to nothing.

Starting point is 00:05:30 Due to this, the plywood that laid underneath was visible, but that's not all. According to the case manager, the entire floor was, and I quote, covered in what looked to be urine, grease, and animal feces. The refrigerator, which was described as black, not sure if was actually black or just really dirty, emanated an odor of rotting meat. According to the caseworker, maggots were in plain sight and had a, I quote, coating on the base that looked to be mold of some type. Then the caseworker did a deep dive of the bathroom.

Starting point is 00:05:59 Inside, they found what they described as a overrunning wastebasket with what looked to be used toilet paper with human urine and feces. Apparently the toilet didn't flush and no one thought to fix it or call a landlord, probably out of fear of what would happen when they saw the overall condition of the property. The following day on October 12, 2023, FCM Megan Foutain, also completed an investigation into the derelict home, although it's unclear if she actually paid a visit to the property or if contact was made via phone. Now during her investigation, the case manager discovered that Cole was responsible for all

Starting point is 00:06:36 of the expenses in the home. This included rent and all utilities. He also had quite a bit of responsibility for his nephew as well. According to the report, Cole was responsible for cooking and for feeding V1, as well as getting him ready for school and getting him on and off the bus. The caseworker concluded that Lindsay and Cole Lydek were the only adult caretakers in the home, and in the end, both mother and uncle were neglecting V-1's needs and were depriving him of necessary support in a sanitary home. With this in mind, both Lindsay and Cold-Lydic were arrested and booked into the Hendricks

Starting point is 00:07:12 County Jail on Saturday, October 14, 2023. They were charged with one count each of neglect of a dependent, which is a level six felony in Indiana. We'll be back in just one minute. Please stick around for the following ad. It not only supports the channel, but it also supports charities in our area. This week's episode has been brought to you by Jackpot World, an entertaining and authentic casino slot experience that you can download for free on your Android, iOS, or Windows device.

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Starting point is 00:08:27 Then click my link in the description now and come play with us. Thanks and back to the episode. Now, this wasn't even the first time that Lindsay lost custody of her son or had a brush with the law. In September 9th, 2019, she made the following post to one of her many Facebook pages that reads, Got custody of my son back today. I'm 127 days sober and loving my life now, getting ready to go to work. The posts included a happy picture of Lindsay with a quote, When Everything Seems like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top,

Starting point is 00:08:58 along with the hashtag, Sober is the new dope. For contacts, both Lindsay and Cole lied it, both pled guilty to felony crystal possession in 2019. Although booked into the Hendricks County Jail, both were ultimately sentenced to probation, but were re-arrested that same year for violation of said probation. But Cole still couldn't behave and was picked up for a third time for a violation in For their current charges, Cole was released from the Hendricks County Jail on October 16th, 20203 while Lindsay was kept behind bars without bond. You see, Lindsay was already scheduled for a bench trial in October 16th, only two days

Starting point is 00:09:33 after her latest arrest for neglect of a dependent. Lindsay was picked up for theft, and Hendricks County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Zelensky wasn't having any of it and revoked her bond, which was only $300. However, according to the jail website, she was released on November 8th, 2023 at 4.34 p.m. What's really sad about all of this is that this scene we painted isn't one that should be unfamiliar to any of you. It's one we've highlighted multiple times on this channel, and that things immediately go down the tube when drugs like Crystal and Fentanyl enter the picture.

Starting point is 00:10:07 It's a problem that's not just crippling our bigger cities, it's decimating small-town America. Prior to her drug arrest on February 5, 2019, Lindsay didn't appear to have any issues with the law. According to her social media, she was trying to be better each and every day, God willing. She even studied to be a CNA and worked in food service. My point is, everything that went to hell for Lindsay all happened after her first drug arrests. That's the same thing with Cole, too. The victim in our story today, V1, made it out unscathed.

Starting point is 00:10:39 According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Detective Sergeant Samuel Chandler of the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department, little boy is now in custody of his father in Coatsville. It's unclear what happened with the family pets, but I hope they're also alive and well and with loving families. As this was a little bit of a shorter story, we thought we would give an update on a similar case out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin that you might recall. And that's of Katie Cock and Joel Mankey. If you're unfamiliar with the case, we'll give you a short recap. Tonight, we're hearing from the mayor after a Milwaukee woman and her boyfriend face multiple felony charges for allegedly keeping two boys, seven and nine-year-olds locked in their house for,

Starting point is 00:11:18 year. On July 13th, 2023, officers of the Milwaukee Police Department's third district respond 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 at the time of the story 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 saw a woman yank one of the boys back inside of what she assumed to be their home. One neighbor told police that one of the naked boys have been wandering down the sidewalk like a caveman. Another neighbor said they witnessed one of the children escaping through a broken bedroom

Starting point is 00:11:56 window, then standing on top of an AC unit, and finally, by 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 total had called in complaints on the family. According to neighborhood resident Christine Eder, who also called 911, I'm not going to ever forget the way they looked when they came running out of that house. Never forget that. The look on their faces was pure bewilderment. They were just looking all around.

Starting point is 00:12:27 They could not. I don't think they'd ever been outside before. 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.

Starting point is 00:12:48 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. 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.

Starting point is 00:13:14 and wanted to make sure the little boys were 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 the home, 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 dishevelled overall. When the officers first arrived, she tried to sneak out a side door. She was continuously pacing and swaying her body and appeared agitated.

Starting point is 00:13:44 hated. Or in a 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. Or in Officer Cruz, he walked into a terrible hoarding situation. He needed a difficult time seeing the floor. He observed the kitchen piled with trash. 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 garbage was piled outside of the door. The door was halfway opened and the urine and feces smell became more unbearable as Officer Cruz approached to take a closer look.

Starting point is 00:14:22 The children's room had feces smeared all over the walls. There was also a latch lock on the door outside of the kids' room. It was becoming more and more apparent that these kids might have been held captive in their own home. Now, according to Katie, the substance on the walls of the room was clay, paint, and chocolate, but it was clearly poop. Now, Officer Daniel Goodchild arrived on the scene. He took pictures of the boys as well as the ground floor and basement of the dwelling.

Starting point is 00:14:50 There was a dog located upstairs and it's unclear whether or not the animal was seized by animal control. Now, based on the information that we'll share later on in the story, it would be 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 bodies, Katie allegedly grabbed her son with both hands and stated that she was scared. Of what? Going to jail? Anyway, 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,

Starting point is 00:15:30 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 house, Katie's boyfriend, 38-year-old Joel Mankey, was standing in the driveway. Told the officers that Katie and her two boys have been living with him for some three and a half years, when he described himself as something like a stepdad to the children. According to reports, Joel allegedly went on to admit that he was the one who boarded up the window to the children's room to keep the children from bothering the nosy neighbor.

Starting point is 00:16:05 It was not clear on who this neighbor was or what he 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 is unclear whether or not the boys actually were autistic, or if they were suffering from developmental impairments due to the extreme neglect that they suffered. 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,

Starting point is 00:16:35 Joel claimed that he allegedly provided meals and other basic caretaking functions for them, and that they called him dad. Both Katie and Joel were read their Miranda rights and agreed to be interviewed. Now, according to Joel, he knew how the children were living and felt that it wasn't right but was forced to pick his battles with Katie to avoid arguments with her. He also stated that he never contacted the police or CPS to report the children because he doesn't believe in doing that to family members. Now, during Katie's interview, she claimed that her children were homeschooled but lacked a proper curriculum.

Starting point is 00:17:06 She also admitted that she didn't want the boys to, and I quote, lose the stability they have as if proper schooling was 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 she knew they deserved better. Now, having an improper homeschool curriculum was a vast understatement to say the least. According to Katie, one of the boys could trace letters and read small words while the other was learning how to put sentences together in proper form.

Starting point is 00:17:39 She advised Officer Cruz that they used educational apps on their tablets and that she had recently purchased hooked on phonics. Meanwhile, both boys were taken to the hospital where they had their heads shaved. Their hair was matted and caked in feces. When this was brought up to Katie, she was fine with this and claimed that 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

Starting point is 00:18:09 as she thought it should have been. She also admitted that she knew her home was not suitable for habitation. Again, completely gross understatement considering everything we've already outlined prior. In the end, she wrote both of her boys a three-page apology letter. Katie Cock and Joel Mankey were both arrested and faced multiple charges. Katie stood accused of two felony counts each of chronic neglect of a child, false imprisonment, and two misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child. The boyfriend, Joel, stood accused of two counts,

Starting point is 00:18:39 each of chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment. They were 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 had no way of pain. They were slated for their first court appearance on July 26, 2023. If convicted of their charges, the maximum penalties include $120,000 in fines and 42.5 years in prison. Katie would also face an additional $20,000 and 18 months in prison for her misdemeanors. The boys were thankfully placed in protective custody. According to Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis, it's really terrible. It's like something out of a horror movie.

Starting point is 00:19:18 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 subscribe them. acting like cave-in like they had never seen the son before are completely uneducated.

Starting point is 00:19:43 They are not quite trained. Even at their ages, they are essentially at this point unable to function in society. However, shortly after their arrest, Joel's family actually did bail him out. According to his mother, Diane, I think he would have done things differently. But it's not like he didn't tell her and he didn't try. Although Diane agreed that what happened was wrong, she still made excuses for her son, claiming that even though he wasn't the boy's father, he worked to help provide for them. She also claimed that the boys were allowed outside, saying he took them to the park and outside.

Starting point is 00:20:17 They were down by the lake. They did things, but that's what I want people to know. They didn't keep them in a house trapped up in a room. She also claimed that Joel tried to get Katie to enroll her kids into a program for kids with special needs, but said Katie was not interested. Joel tried as hard as to get the kids to go to school. What more can you do when you're not the dad? You can tell the mom, but she didn't want to do that.

Starting point is 00:20:39 Diane told reporters that up until a year and a half prior, they'd been seeing the boys with some frequency, stating, when they were here, she was good, always watching over them. Diane recalled, he's trying. I just wish he would have tried harder, so none of this would have come about. On February 8, 2024, Katie Koch was sentenced to 10 years in prison, having pled guilty in December of 2023 to false imprisonment, in two counts of chronic neglect of a child in which the consequence is emotional damage.

Starting point is 00:21:08 Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Rebecca A. Keefer sentenced Katie to serve five years in prison for each of the neglect charges in five years of extended supervision when she is released. As part of the deal she made with the prosecution, Katie would not be allowed to see her sons again until they were adults. It's actually unclear what's going on with Joel Mankey as of the date of this recording. He pled not guilty at his arraignment in July of 2023, and appears to not have been sentenced yet. He was slated for court on February 28, 2024, but we've not been able to find information on whether or not that took place. As always, we'll keep an eye out for updates if they become available, and I think this is going to be one of those if they become available cases. I think we can all agree that both stories are one thing, if anything, and that's sad.

Starting point is 00:21:57 Lindsay and Cole Lydic from our first story still have time to turn it around and make a better life for themselves in V1. Of course, they're considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and Joel Manke as well. Now let's hope they seize the day, ditch the crystal,

Starting point is 00:22:14 and turn it around before it's too late.

The Misery Machine - The Case of the Lydick Horror House

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