A Wisconsin couple was charged with child neglect for subjecting a teenager to cruel living conditions. The man and the woman allegedly starved and tortured their 15-year-old daughter. Here are all the disturbing details of the case that you need to know.
A teenager nearly lost her life in Wisconsin after enduring the torture inflicted on her by her own mother and stepfather. The girl who weighs 58 pounds was allegedly made to stay in her room with her hands up for hours by the couple.
Upon further investigation, authorities found out how the 15-year-old endured torture, starvation, and cruelty in her own house. The disturbing discoveries were made after the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office got a call on October 15, 2023. They were informed that a medical emergency call had taken place in a Rib Mountain home.
Tristan Hull, the stepfather of the girl, told authorities that she was having trouble breathing. He blamed the problem on a protein shake she had allegedly drunk. The criminal affidavit acquired by Law&Crime noted that Hull claimed the teenager had “stiffened up” and become unresponsive after drinking it.
The paramedics who arrived at the scene reportedly gave CPR to the teenager for 25 minutes before they could declare her condition as stable. She was rushed to the nearest hospital and then transported to another one when they found out that “her organs began to fail because of severe dehydration.”
The Wisconsin father of a girl 15, who weighed just 58 lbs and was forced to stand with her hands up “for hours” in a locked bedroom has pleaded guilty. Tristan Hull, 40, on Mon entered a guilty plea to chronic neglect of a child with great bodily harm, court records say. His… pic.twitter.com/9q9HIpfL6J
— Sumner (@renmusb1) August 11, 2025
The doctors there also found out that she was suffering a bone marrow failure because of how malnourished she was. Tristan Hull had informed the authorities that his step-daughter suffered from a condition that caused poor blood circulation within he body.
The family’s pastor had seen the teenager’s health worsen over the years. The pastor shared how the 15-year-old would find it difficult to focus on youth classes because she was “literally starving.” They also noted how the girl would “inhale” any food offered to her. She would often stuff food in her pockets and take it to a private part of the church to eat alone.
Medical experts at the hospital shared that the girl was 30 pounds underweight for a child her age. They also pointed out that she did not have any conditions that had prevented her from gaining weight. In the 8 days she spent at the hospital, she managed to gain 5 pounds.
When she recovered at the hospital, the girl told the authorities how her mother and stepfather were “very strict with her when it came to eating, such as not allowing her to eat snacks.” She revealed how she was never allowed to have breakfast like her siblings.
⚠️ WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of alleged child abuse.
Tristan Hull, 40, has pleaded guilty to chronic neglect of a child with great bodily harm after he & his wife allegedly starved & abused their 15-year-old adopted daughter. The girl weighed just 58… pic.twitter.com/8fl8bG7h7D
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) August 12, 2025
Her guardians claimed that she was entitled to follow a special diet because of her ADHD. Brittany Hull, who is the teenager’s mother, allegedly only let her drink 16 ounces of water every day. The girl was also spoon-fed on days when she was too weak to eat by herself.
Detectives working on the case found locks on the teenager’s doors and windows. Tristan and his wife, Britanny, are now being charged with chronic neglect of a child with great bodily harm for their treatment of the 15-year-old.
