Strange News:: Couple arrested for allegedly abusing adoptive children; made them eat dog food, sleep in dog cages 2/24/11

Sonja Kluth and John Kluth, accused of torturing their adoptive children in Oklahoma. Mugshot via Canadian County Jail.

In a gruesome and macabre act of cruciation, an Oklahoma couple, John and Sonja Kluth, ages 50 and 57, have been arrested for allegedly torturing their adoptive children. According to KFOR Channel 4 Oklahoma, the Kluth’s have been accused of “brutal beatings and even feeding their children dog and cat food”. The children were reportedly found extremely malnourished.

KFOR reports that authorities were notified when the Kluth’s 15 year son ran away and was later found sleeping in a box behind a retail store. Police reports also indicate that the 15 year old refused to go home and filed the following about the condition of how the boy was found:

…with a broken hand, scars on this abdomen where he was cut with a knife, scars on this abdomen and back where he was burned with utensils, injuries on this neck where he was strangled and swelling to his finger from having his fingers smashed.

Court documents also state that the kids, ages 9, 11 and 15, were starved and forced to sleep in dog crates in their home’s cellar. It also states that Sonja Kay Kluth admitted to becoming a monster, allegedly using hot utensils to burn the children but also claims that the kind of discipline she used was necessarily to keep the children under control. The 15 year old boy who ran away suffered from multiple afflictions bestowed by his abusive, adoptive parents and has deformed hands from having them crushed multiple times.

Apparently, the children were originally adopted in Wisconsin. The couple has 3 adult biological children, one of whom still knowingly resides in Wisconsin. He claims that his parents were being investigated in the state of Wisconsin and that’s why he believes they fled to Oklahoma. He seemingly shows no sympathy for his parents, saying “They’re going to get what they deserve.”

The Kluth’s were reportedly getting $1500 per child from the state of Wisconsin and have likely used some of that money to post their bond. They are now free until arraignment.

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Personal Blog:: The pain I wish I received 2/24/11

I'm finally adding to my last blog posting.  Sorry I didn't make it longer, but my heart was in my throat, and I had to recover my stance.

My dog Henry and I were the best of friends.  I'm sure most of you all know "Calvin & Hobbes".  Well, we were very much that.  We played Monopoly, and he always would win.  We would play outside and pretend we were blasting off into far off worlds.  We would watch TV and pretend we were where the characters were.  And we would hold each other when my dad would yell.  He never cried, and he liked my tears off my face.  We at times would try to make a game out of being quiet.

One night my dad came home from one of his drunken nights out.  And my mom and me were eating dinner.  He came in and we held our breath. (my mom, me and henry) Waiting to see what type of mood he was in.  Well, he came in a saw us at the dinner table and shut the door. My mom and I looked at each other and prayed within that millisecond of a glance.  He just stared at up and laughed a joking laugh.  We smiled at him and tried to get on his good side right off the bat.  My mom hopped up and said let me get you a plate.  And I ran over to give him a hug.  The hug please, please, please, don't be angry at us for no reason at all" hug.  But to our surprise our efforts were useless.  He stopped me before I could make the hug and said to me in a low clear voice...

"Do I look like an Idiot?"  I said "No".  "Do you think that I wouldn't know what you did?" his voiced raised.  I then gulped and summoned the courage to ask what my crime was.  "I know you have been talking to other men!!" scared and shocked at his answer I said, "I haven't dad, I don't know what it would be about, I was just a school" He then put his hand on my shoulder and with a hardy shove, thew me down on the ground.  "NOT YOU... YOU'RE MOTHER!!! YOUR WHORE OF A MOTHER. SHE HAS BEEN TALKING TO OTHER GUYS WHEN I'M NOT AROUND!!!  I GUESS SHE THOUGHT I WOULD NEVER KNOW... well I know now!  And I'm going to have to teach her a lesson."  His voice lowered with a strong sense of joy for what he was going to do.  What he was going to take pleasure in doing to my mother.  When I was shoved, I landed with a thud and found myself looking to my mother.  She was just as surprised to hear this answer as I was.  He walked towards her pushing chairs aside and anything else that was in the way.  I leapt to my feet and tried to grab my dad's angry fists.  He told me to stay out of it, or I was going to be next.  I didn't want to be next I want to be first.

He got a hold of my mother standing against the sink as she wept and begged for understanding.  All the while he yanked her arm into the bedroom.  Where I wasn't allowed to see.  My mother begging and begging for compassion.  Which he would never relay.  I sat next to the door not being able to do anything for her.  Not being able to cover her with my body and take the beating for her.  I always did my best to take most of the beating for her.  I love my mother with such love, that the pain to me was nothing. the pain she would feel for days beyond today, excruciating.  She wept and begged like he liked her to do, like the sick way he got back at her.  He grabbed her neck and started to squeeze her.  Squeeze her like she was just a type of trash that needed to be thrown out.  I started to hit him from behind.  I hit with the strength of a 7-year-old.  He's thinking this was amusing quickly turned to annoyance.  He once again threw me to the ground and said I will deal with you next.

At this time, the neighbor heard the yelling and commotion.  The doorbell ring, I yelled, "HELP! HELP!" which only came out as a soft voice less cry. My voice was almost gone from yelling.  I tried again, "HELP! HELP!" yet again it was a voiceless squeak. Tears came, they came down my face as if the water line broke.  Feeling my one chance for help fading away.  My father let my mom go and she pulled the air from room into her lungs with a loud gasp.  Her face was bluish, and her neck was red.  My father went to answer the door and I pulled myself up yet once again.  I rushed to my mom side to see if she was alive.  I hugged her and wept, thinking this had to end.  Asking heavenly father to take me and my mom... NOW.  I heard the door shut and the footsteps coming towards us.

But he didn't come into the bedroom he went to the bathroom.  My mom whispered "don't worry".  I still cried.  At this point my mind turned to Henry.  Where was he? He needs to be here, he is part of the family.  I could hear my father washing his hands, so I snuk into my room and got him from under the sheets.  When I returned my dad was in the room standing over my mom.  I feared the worst. I ran in and jumped next to my mother, henry in hand.  "BITCH, you're lucky" he stated.  I have no clue how she was lucky.  He was still drunk and staggering, but he found a way to the front door and walked out.  My voice returned again and I asked my mom if she was alright.  Her voice on the other hand was soft and meek.  She looked at me and saw the pain I had in my face, and she hugged me.  Oh to feel her holding me, knowing that her arms can still hold me was the best feeling in the world.  Even though she was hurt, I felt like nothing would pull us apart.  We fell asleep in this position, the position that I felt safe in.

A Frugal Lifestyle Brings Joy 2/24/11

Very few things can bring more strife and stress into a family household than issues around money and not having enough of it to cover expenses and bills If money issues or lack of it are taking away the joy in your life and you want to take steps to do something about it, start by banning the ‘if only’ mindset

Very few things can bring more strife and stress into a family household than issues around money and not having enough of it to cover expenses and bills. If money issues or lack of it are taking away the joy in your life and you want to take steps to do something about it, start by banning the ‘if only’ mindset.

‘If only we could go out to dinner, I'd feel more energetic about the house cleaning that I have to do later tonight.’

‘If only we had a new TV, then we’d have a more pleasant evening with the family.’

‘If only I could purchase this nice expensive cut of meat, then I could make the family a really good meal.’

The ‘if only’ mindset leads you to feeling unsatisfied with what you have and that is a dangerous place to be. Before you know it you’ll be spending what you don’t have which will only lead to debt.

The frugal lifestyle looks at making the best, most efficient use of the food, materials and resources that we have and is the counterculture response to the mass consumerism that is making so many of us crazy!

You don’t have to be an instant frugal living expert overnight. There are many resources available to help you to find your way to the frugal lifestyle.

Let me give you an example. Cutting the grocery bill is one of the easiest ways to make an impact on your budget. The website (www.hillbillyhousewife.com) is a great resource for helping with food budgets. On that site you’ll a find a free guide called ‘Best Bets for Your Budget’ and in this guide are tips for building your family menu around healthy food items that are always good buys at your local grocery or super store.

For instance, you might like sirloin steak, but let’s face it, sirloin is an expensive meat that is rarely ever affordable. So don’t collect recipes or make meal plans that include sirloin steak. Save sirloin for special occasions. Instead focus on recipes and meal planning that includes fresh items and other goods that are healthy and affordable where you shop.

One of the great features of the ‘Best Bets for Your Budget Guide’ is that it includes a suggested list of items that can be purchased affordably in many stores. For example instead of the sirloin steak mentioned above you might focus on preparing tasty dishes using other more affordable meets like those suggested which include ground turkey, fresh chicken leg quarters and frozen trout and catfish fillets. Sometimes you just need some ideas to help to get you going on developing your own list of ‘best buy’ foods where you live.

The Hillbilly Housewife website also offers hundreds of recipes specifically designed for the frugal cook.

Approach the purchase of materials in your home in the same way. Do you need that new flat screen TV or can you wait until you can afford it and make do with your old flickering TV mixed with some good family time together, playing cards, or sitting out on the back porch or backyard tent telling stories and enjoying the company of the people who mean the most to you.

Nurturing a strong appreciation for what we have both in our pocketbooks and in our homes and families is more than a frugal mindset, it’s a smart way of living that can lead us out of debt and on the road to finding real joy in our lives.

Susanne Myers is the owner of Hillbilly Housewife a haven on the Internet for those looking for simple but proven frugal cooking and living advice and recipes for ‘low cost, home cooking from scratch.’