A West Virginia couple faces child neglect charges after their 18-year-old daughter called 911 about domestic violence, leading deputies to find their 4-year-old autistic child locked alone in a room.
Domestic Incident Response
On March 5, 2026, Upshur County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the home of 40-year-old Joshua Vincent Moore and 36-year-old Kayla Spruill following the 911 call. Spruill claimed Moore accidentally hit her lip with a phone; the daughter described frequent emotional abuse by Moore toward Spruill.
Child Neglect Discovery
The teenager showed deputies a bedroom secured by two locked gates containing the nonverbal 4-year-old boy with autism, naked, with blue stains on feet and mouth, finger-painting with feces. Parents admitted locking him in for “safety” due to elopement risk; the daughter said Moore often confined him while smoking weed and gaming, and they made her skip school to babysit.
Substance Use and Arrest
Spruill tested at 0.1 BAC after admitting to wine the prior night; Moore confessed to morning marijuana before work. Both were arrested for child neglect creating injury risk, held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $25,000 cash bonds, with a preliminary hearing set for March 13.
