Get unlimited access to Bruins cup coverage - Just 99¢

The Boston Globe

Nation

Detectives detail malnourished teen’s confinement

DALLAS, Ga. — A Georgia teen was so malnourished he still had his baby teeth at age 18 and was so isolated that his sisters who lived in the same house had no contact with him aside from hearing his screams, detectives testified Thursday.

The young man, Mitch Comer, stood 5-foot-1 and weighed 87 pounds when he raised the suspicion of a guard at a bus station in downtown Los Angeles last month.

He said he was put on a bus by his stepfather, Paul Comer, on his 18th birthday with a few hundred dollars and a list of homeless shelters.

Mitch Comer told detectives he was subjected to years of abuse after being taken out of school in eighth grade, confined to a bathroom and bedroom, and shielded from sunlight so long his skin had become translucent.

Detectives described their interviews with the teen and his family during a hearing that ended with Paul and Sheila Comer, being denied bond.

The teen’s two sisters, ages 11 and 13, thought he had brown hair but never saw him, said Paulding County Sheriff’s Detective Kyle Shelton.

During the hearing, Detective Kevin Morgan testified that the Comers conceded the teen had been confined to the room as punishment. Paul Comer also has told investigators Mitch Comer went to Los Angeles because he wanted to be an actor.