Arrested
Here, a photo shows a handcuffed man at the police headquarters in Lille, northern France, Nov. 29, 2018. Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images

An Indiana father locked up his 12-year-old son in a motel bathroom and shacked the boy, police said Tuesday. The boy, Eduardo Passo, who died, was placed in the bathtub, with a K-9 shock collar around his neck.

The boy's father, Luis Posso, 32, allegedly videotaped the abuse and also took “selfies” in front of his 9-year-old sister and two brothers, aged five and two, police officials said.

“There are no words for this kind of abuse,” detective Lt. Jennifer Allen said at a press conference Tuesday. “Disbelief, horror, shock — you can’t even put it into words.”

Describing the horrific incident that led to the boy's death, local sheriff Brad Swain said the case was “beyond anything” he had ever seen before.

“You don’t even want to let your mind go to imagine what this child went through,” he told reporters. “The emergency room doctor had a pretty emotional experience as a result of having to do this examination and seeing firsthand the cruelty some people can place [on a child].”

On Friday, police arrested Luis and his son’s stepmother, Dayan Median Flores, 25. They were both charged with neglect following an investigation.

According to police, the boy was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital on Thursday for treatment. The local sheriff described the boy’s condition as “unresponsive” when he arrived at the hospital.

“A quick examination of the child found signs of extreme abuse,” Swain explained, noting that law enforcement was notified. However, just minutes after arriving at the hospital, the boy was declared dead.

Swain said the boy was “severely emaciated,” weighing between 50 to 55 pounds.

“I can’t think of, in 30 years, a case like this,” he told reporters, adding that the video of the alleged abuse was found on the couple’s cellphones.

Detectives found the shock collar and shackles allegedly used on Eduardo during a search of their motel room. The boy's brothers and sister were placed in the care of child protection services after the parents were taken into custody.

“I’m sure this will be with those children for the rest of their lives,” Swain said.