For three months, since the day the twins were born, their parents, 19-year-old Jordan Lanie Swenson and 20-year-old Marion Austin Dycus, must have never taken them out of the house for anyone to see since they were busy inside doing other things, which others should have noticed.
Almost exactly three months from the day they were born, the couple brought them out of their home, but only for a trip back to the hospital after things had gone horribly wrong. Now, the couple is going to prison after what was found on the children’s tiny bodies.
Jordan Lanie Swenson and Marion Austin Dycus with their twins
Although photos posted on Facebook showed a loving set of parents, kissing their twins, the reality that these newborns faced was a much different picture — one that no child should ever have to face, let alone innocent newborns.
According to arrest warrants detailing the mistreatment the newborns endured, the duo began to “torture, willfully abuse, cruelly beat, or otherwise willfully maltreat the child(ren) by causing physical injury which created the substantial risk of death on multiple occasions,” AL.com reports.
Both infants’ little bodies were covered in deep, dark bruises, mostly on their heads and faces. The baby girl was suffering respiratory failure and had suffered bite marks on her face. Her brother suffered broken ribs, all from their parents’ perpetual abuse.
An unexpected injury found on the girl was a torn frenulum, which is the fold of skin in the mouth found under the tongue or between the lip and gum. This unusual injury could have been caused by excessive screaming and prolonged crying over the course of the abuse, as the infant girl endured one beating after another.
When the children were taken to the hospital, the medical staff had to be shocked by what they discovered and witnessed. Doctors and nurses saw the previously mentioned bite mark on the little girl’s face, in addition to finding her to be in severe respiratory distress.
Meanwhile, the little boy was discovered to have multiple fractured ribs, according to reports. Both children had heavy bruising on their head and face areas, and the infant girl had the torn frenulum, described above. One can only imagine what it was like to see this devastating abuse in person. Of course, the hospital staff did their duty and reported the depraved duo who had been disgustingly abusing their newborn twins.
Jordan Lanie Swenson and Marion Austin Dycus with their twins
Jordan Swenson and Marion Dycus were taken into custody after the hospital called the appropriate authorities to report the extent of the children’s conditions. They were each booked and held on $1 million bonds, and if found guilty of what they are accused, they better never see the light of day again.
While there doesn’t seem to be a punishment appropriate enough for this type of crime, quite often, fellow inmates will do their best to impose the same torture on those who abuse children. While trapped in a jail cell for the duration of their sentences, these two could very likely find themselves living in the hell that they put their children through. If they didn’t want these kids, they should have adopted them out to a couple who could love them and who desperately desires a family. Instead, they decided that it would be a good time to abuse them for hours, days, weeks, and months on end, to the edge of death.