Harrisburg Mother Finds Out About 8-Year-Old Son’s Death In Their Home After 4 Days

Kimberly Tutko, a mother from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said that she did not know that her son was dead until she noticed a foul odor coming from the third floor of their Green Street home on Friday night. She was living with the corpse of her dead son for several days.

Kimberly said that her husband Jarrod only told her about their son’s death several days after he passed, ABC News reports.

Kimberly and Jarrod Tutko are parents to five other kids, some of whom suffer from medical conditions. Their deceased son, Jarrod Jr., who was eight years old, was mentally disabled, autistic, and suffered from a condition called Fragile X Syndrome that caused developmental problems.

When Kimberly noticed the strange smell, her husband went up to the third floor of their home and came back down with the body of their child wrapped in a sheet. Kimberly thought that their son had just passed, but she was surprised to see that it was obviously days since the son died.

“I said to him ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’ He said he was too afraid to say anything because of other kids in the house.”

After the incident, Kimberly called 911. It is not yet clear what caused the boy’s death. The mother explained that her son was difficult to care for, and that he would rip the carpet and flooring of his bedroom and spread his feces on the surfaces. Because of this, he lived on the third floor of their home where his father took care for him.

She also said that she understands why other people don’t believe how a mother could not know of her son’s death when her son was living under the same roof. She explained, however, that Jarrod was the one primarily taking care of their son, and she was the one taking care of their other disabled daughter. “My daughter relies on me. I take care of her and my husband takes care of Jarrod Jr.,” she said.

According to Penn Live, Jarrod Sr. was charged with abuse of a corpse, concealing the death of a child, and endangering the welfare of children. He is currently held in the Dauphin County Prison where his bail was set at $500,000.

The couple’s five children were removed from their care and transferred in the care of youth and children specialists.

On Saturday, Kimberly talked to a reporter and allowed a photographer to enter their home and take pictures of the place where Jarrod Jr. lived. They found his bedroom just as the mother described it—unkempt and full of feces.

Kimberly was not charged. An autopsy will be conducted next week to learn the cause of the boy’s death.

[Images via Penn Live]