Uploaded January 2011 | Updated September 2026, 16 minutes ago
A northern Indiana woman has been sentenced to four years in prison on neglect charges for rarely feeding her three children, leaving them so hungry they grabbed and devoured food from tables in a church.
The Journal Gazette reports that 50-year-old Karin Faith Martell was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in November to three counts of neglect and one count of battery.
The Fort Wayne woman was arrested in March after her oldest son entered a Fort Wayne church and told a pastor of the abuse. The boy, his brother and sister then began devouring food in the church.
Court documents state that Martell withheld food and water from her children and subjected them to punishments such as forcing them to sleep in a bathroom with no blankets.
A northern Indiana woman has been sentenced to four years in prison on neglect charges for rarely feeding her three children, leaving them so hungry they grabbed and devoured food from tables in a church.
The Journal Gazette reports that 50-year-old Karin Faith Martell was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in November to three counts of neglect and one count of battery.
The Fort Wayne woman was arrested in March after her oldest son entered a Fort Wayne church and told a pastor of the abuse. The boy, his brother and sister then began devouring food in the church.
Court documents state that Martell withheld food and water from her children and subjected them to punishments such as forcing them to sleep in a bathroom with no blankets.
