'Something out of a horror movie:' Mom, boyfriend arrested after kids found naked and bloody

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (TCD) -- A 34-year-old woman and her 38-year-old boyfriend were arrested after her two children were found walking down the street naked and covered in blood.

According to the criminal complaint filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, on July 13, the Milwaukee Police Department received a call from someone who informed them that "two naked juveniles, estimated to be 13 years old and 9 years old, were walking around the neighborhood with blood on them." The children reportedly had bruises on their bodies and red marks on their thighs.

The caller reportedly noticed a woman "yanked" a male child into a house.

The children were later determined to be 7 and 9 years old.

Milwaukee Police arrived at the scene and learned the woman, Katie Koch, allegedly "violently dragged the child back to the house." As the officer got closer to the house, he heard what sounded like a "quieted cry or whimper." Koch then exited the home through a side door.

The responding officer spoke with Koch, who "appeared to be flustered and anxious." She reportedly said her father died and her kids broke a window. The officer went inside and noted it looked like a "terrible hoarding situation" with trash all over the place and feces "smeared all over the walls" of one of the bedrooms.

While inside, Koch was putting a diaper on another child, who also had red marks on his body. Backup officers arrived, and Koch allegedly told them, "I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so afraid."

According to the complaint, there was a "mound of trash and garbage" outside of the children’s bedroom, which also smelled like urine and feces. A latch was placed on the outside of the door to lock them in.

Koch said she lived at the home with her boyfriend, Joel Manke, who refers to himself as their stepfather. When officers spoke with Manke, he allegedly said he boarded up windows in the kids’ room to "keep the children from bothering the nosy neighbor."

He added that he locked the door to prevent them from walking around the house at night.

Over the three years that Koch had been living with Manke, she reportedly never took them to the doctor or enrolled them in school. She said she home-schooled them but admitted she "doesn’t have a proper curriculum" for them.

A witness told police he saw one of the children sitting outside naked and said they looked like a "caveman" when he saw them walking. Several other witnesses said they had never seen the children before.

The complaint says the children’s hair had to be shaved at the hospital because it was filled with feces. Koch also reportedly acknowledged that the "home is not habitable."

Koch and Manke were arrested and each charged with two counts of chronic neglect of a child and two counts of false imprisonment. Koch also faces a charge of neglecting a child where specified harm did not occur.

According to WISN-TV, in court, Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis said the situation was "something out of a horror movie."

MORE:

• State of Wisconsin vs. Katie Koch, Joel Manke
• Children found naked in street, mother and boyfriend charged - WISN