Women Who Allegedly Kept Children In Boxes Face Attempted Murder Charges

Two Canadian women stand accused of attempted murder from a December child abuse case, after a babysitter discovered two small children with broken bones kept in boxes, according to new details uncovered by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Two sisters in Edmonton are charged with attempted murder, abandonment, unlawful confinement, criminal negligence by not providing medical attention and failure to provide the necessaries of life. To protect the identity of the children in the case, Canadian courts have not released the names of the suspects who CBC only identified as JL, 24, and AM, 23. JL has two daughters, aged 6 and 3, and AM has three children aged 2, 3 and 5.

“I think it's one to pay attention to,” Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht told the CBC. “I do have the details. And it's very disturbing.”

The two women hired a babysitter Dec. 16 and told her to watch AM’s three children upstairs and not to worry about JL’s two daughters, who were downstairs. After the women left, the babysitter thought the children appeared to be malnourished and decided to check on the children downstairs. The babysitter had to move a piece of furniture that blocked a door to get to the children. The babysitter discovered the two girls in closed furniture boxes in a dark room, according to the CBC. The girls both had broken bones and the 3-year-old appeared to have resorted to eating her old hair. The 6-year-old was unconscious.

The babysitter called authorities and the two girls were taken to a hospital.

The women were accused of abusing all five children who became wards of the state, the two sisters who were found in boxes are now in foster care. The court alleged that all five children had been put in some type of illegal captivity between July 1 and Dec. 16. The women had been investigated for possible mistreatment of the children five times before, according to the CBC. Neither woman had an adult record.

“My instructions were to leave no stone unturned,” Knecht told the CBC. “So I think we even assigned more resources to it as a consequence of that discussion. So this is top priority by everybody. We want the public to know [about the case.]”

The two women will appear in court Monday.