Editor’s Note: This story contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New video shows the horrific conditions at least six New Mexico kids were living in before being taken out of the home by CYFD back in July. Investigators said the kids were chained to their beds and punished for going to the fridge when hungry.
The Curry County home full of junk and dogs was hiding a lot more than meets the eye when the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department and New Mexico State Police showed up at the Texico home on July 22. Jaime Sena and Jayme Kushman were a couple living at the house with at least six children ages five to sixteen years old. They include Sena’s kids, Kushman’s young relatives, a neighbor, and a foster child.
Kushman: “Can I ask what we’re here for?”
CYFD: “Yes, ma’am.”
CYFD: “We received an anonymous report regarding…discipline and emotional abuse.”
CYFD toured the home, finding poor living conditions and evidence of abuse. According to the video, CYFD officials said it smelled like urine in the home.
First, they found the padlock on the bed, then the chain on the wall.
Officer: “So random.”
CYFD: “I guarantee they were cuffed to something.”
One state police officer tries to keep the kids preoccupied and calm while the CYFD agent interview some of them. The CYFD representative then talks with Kushman and Sena.
CYFD: “Based on the report we got and the kids did confirm everything…and we saw the chains, we saw the locks, the kids told us how it works. The kids were very forthcoming this time.”
CYFD: Well, right now there’s also no running water.
Kushman: It’s getting turned on tomorrow.
CYFD: The sewer line is getting backed up, there’s sewer…
CYFD took all six kids from the home that day. According to court documents, the kids claimed they were beaten with a paddle as punishment, starved, and chained up to keep them from taking food from the fridge.
Court documents also say a search warrant on Sena’s and Kushman’s phones revealed conversations between the two talking about starving the children, threatening to hurt them, and videos of the women torturing the kids, one-time shoving vomit into a child’s face. Kushman and Sena are each facing 23 child abuse-related charges. They are being held in jail until trial.
