Milwaukee ‘house of horrors’ mother faked happy family life with her two boys, aged 7 and 9, on social media
- Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend Joel Manke, 38, have been charged with felony counts of child neglect and imprisonment after her two sons escaped on July 13
- The boys, aged seven and nine, smashed a window and fled naked and disheveled: prosecutors said their house was ‘out of a horror movie’
- Koch and her sons have lived at the house for four years, but social media photos showed the four on a happy road trip, hugging their grandmother, and playing
A Milwaukee mother charged with child neglect and imprisonment after her two sons escaped from their ‘horror movie’ home shared glossy photos of her family online, while in reality the boys were living in squalor.
Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, were both arrested after the boys, aged seven and nine, smashed a window on their home on July 13 and escaped naked and bedraggled.
One witness said the little boys acted like ‘cavemen who had never seen the sun’ as they roamed the street.
Yet Koch used her Instagram account to paint a very different picture, showing a happy family where the boys spent time with their grandmother, played in the snow, enjoyed baking and decorating for Christmas, and went on fun road trips.
Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, are seen in a photo posted to Instagram. Koch frequently shared images depicting a happy family life, while in reality her sons were imprisoned and lived in squalor
The mother of the boys who escaped from a ‘house of horrors’ last week – Katie Koch, 34 – is facing four felony counts and two misdemeanors connected to child neglect and false imprisonment, while her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, is charged with four felony counts
Manke told investigators he has lived in the house since 2007, while Koch said she moved in with her children around four years ago.
He first appeared in her social media at approximately the same time Koch and her children moved in with him, in October 2019.
For Halloween that year, the family dressed up – Manke and Koch in onesies, and one of the children in a Paw Patrol outfit, with a relative dressed as a ladybug.
In November 2019, Koch showed off her son Chase’s baking skills, posting images of a seemingly-delighted child with a tray of brightly colored cupcakes.
Over the holidays in 2019, one son was depicted decorating the house with Christmas garlands, and another in a ‘Happy New Year’ outfit.
The wholesome family images continued throughout 2020: the boys were shown playing in the snow, and Koch praised Manke as a wonderful stepfather.
One of the boys was shown baking multicolored cupcakes
In another photo, the child is seen hanging garlands to celebrate Christmas
The family marked New Year’s Eve in 2019 with celebrations at home
The family in 2020 is shown playing in the snow
In June 2020, the boys were pictured rushing to hug their grandmother
In October 2020, the family celebrated Dominic’s fifth birthday
In June 2020, the boys were pictured rushing to hug their grandmother, throwing themselves into her arms: four months later, the family celebrated Dominic’s fifth birthday, with balloons and fun costumes.
Her last photos with the children were posted in January 2021, celebrating Manke’s 36th birthday.
‘Hippo Birdie Two Ewe, My Love, I am so blessed to know you. All of you. For who you really, truly are,’ she wrote, accompanied by photos of Manke with the boys and her.
‘You’re an AMAZING Man, Best Friend, Daddy to Our Boys & All of Our FurBabies, and Every Single other Role that You Fulfill.
‘May 36 be the best year, yet. Here is to Many, Many, Many, Many More Years, Odin!!!!’
The last photo she posted of herself was a month later: her final post was in January this year, with a series of goth memes.
Investigators said the boys appeared to have been living in squalor for years: they were not toilet trained, and had not had a haircut or seen a doctor since 2019.
Koch home-schooled her sons.
During a police interview, Manke said he knew the living conditions were not good for the children, but he had to ‘pick his battles’ with Koch to avoid arguments.
Koch was filmed looking upset in a subsequent court hearing as a prosecutor outlined the abuse and neglect she is accused of inflicting on her children.
Police who responded to a 911 call from nearby residents in the lakeside east Wisconsin city said the house was so crammed with belongings that the floor was not visible, describing it as a ‘terrible hoarding situation’.
Neighbors first spotted her children – whose hair was matted by feces – peering through a shattered window on July 13.
On Monday, Koch appeared at Milwaukee County intake court, where the assistant district attorney described the living conditions as ‘like something out of a horror movie’
Pictured: ‘House of horrors’ where the boys, aged seven and nine, escaped naked and covered in blood, with hair matted by feces, after breaking free via a shattered window last week
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eYQAkHI1kgs%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
They said the boys climbed through the window onto an air conditioning unit before jumping into the yard and walking down the street stark naked.
A resident on the street, Christine Eder, said the children looked like ‘they had never been outside.’
‘They were just walking different,’ Eder said.
‘Their hair looked like it had never been brushed, never been cut. They didn’t know the outside existed.’
Eder said the detached house is normally quiet, and she had not seen anyone go in and out before, let alone heard children.
She was taken aback by the scene unfolding outside the normally unremarkable home and she kept watch over the boys while her husband called 911.
On Monday, Koch appeared at Milwaukee County intake court, where the assistant district attorney described the living conditions as ‘like something out of a horror movie.’
Mallory Davis said the boys had been imprisoned in their rooms, where the windows were boarded up and the doors locked from the outside.
The conditions were so bad that the children’s heads had to be shaved because their hair was matted with feces.
‘These children have been horribly damaged from their mother’s actions,’ Davis said.
‘They are completely uneducated. They are not potty trained, even at their ages.
‘They are, essentially at this point, unable to function in society.’
Koch, whose hair was also badly matted in her police mugshots, also ‘admitted that the home is not habitable,’ and said ‘her boys deserve better’, according to WDJT.
Neighbor Christine Eder said the children looked like ‘they had never been outside’. ‘They were just walking different. Their hair looked like it had never been brushed,’ she said
‘These children have been horribly damaged from their mother’s actions,’ Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis said
Koch has been set a $30,000 cash bail, which officials have said she is not able to pay.
Manke’s cash bail was set at $6,500 and it is unclear if he has paid it.
If convicted of all the charges, they each face prison terms of up to 43 years, and fines of up to $120,000.
Koch could be sentenced to an additional $20,000 in fines and 18 months in prison for the two misdemeanor counts.
Their preliminary hearings are set for July 26.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he hopes those responsible for the ‘terrible’ treatment of the children ‘see justice’.
‘I’m glad that those children were able to escape, that’s a terrible, unfortunate situation,’ he said.
‘No kid should have to endure that sort of experience, especially not with relatives of theirs, in any home, in any community in Milwaukee, or Wisconsin, or the United States.
‘I hope those people who were responsible, their parents, see some justice on this.’
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