Two Little Brothers Covered in Blood Found in the Streets of Wisconsin - They Were Escaping ‘Horror’ House

• Two little brothers were found covered in blood and dirt wandering the streets of Wisconsin after escaping inhumane living conditions in their family home.
• The neighbors who found them were horrified to learn what was happening to the small boys in the neighboring house, and the whole ordeal was referred to as something "out of [a] horror movie."
• Their mother posted pictures on social media that falsely painted a happy family narrative for years.

Residents of a neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, could not believe their eyes when they saw two little boys deliriously wandering the streets of their community, naked and completely covered in blood and dirt. The two boys, aged 7 and 9, are brothers and lived in a house on the street that many neighbors had thought was not even occupied. Their mother, Katie Koch, 34, and her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, kept them imprisoned in the home for years.

Neighbors discovered the boys on July 17 when one saw them jump into their yard from a shattered window and stagger onto the road. Another neighbor, Christine Eder, who lives across the street from their house, described what she witnessed when she saw the poor boys stumbling away from the home she described as usually quiet.

While being interviewed about the tragic ordeal, one man reiterated that no one on their street knew of the boys' existence until they escaped. He expressed:

"I was really shocked that there were two kids living in that house."

The shock experienced by the neighbors did not stop there. They were even more baffled and horrified to learn of the horrific conditions the children were forced to live under.

The Little Boys Were Forced to Live In Inhumane Conditions, Imprisoned in Their Mother's and Her Boyfriend's Home

CBS 58, who reported on the story, interviewed Eder, who kept a watchful eye on the two boys as she called 911. She was still reeling as she processed what she had bore witness to:

"[It looked like] they had never been outside before, [and] if they have been, it's been a very long time. They were just walking different, [and] their hair looked like it had never been brushed, never been cut; they didn't know the outside existed."

Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis described the horrendous state of the space the boys were being kept in for years. The two were confined to their bedroom — which had boarded-up windows and could only be locked and unlocked from the outside — for most of their days. The entire home was filled with garbage and had a pungent smell of urine and feces, which covered all the walls.

Piles of trash bags were also found outside the room the boys stayed in, and hoards of junk filled every space in the home to the point where responding officers said that they could not see the floor. While speaking about the unimaginable conditions and what the boys endured, Davis stated:

"It's really terrible. It's like something out of a horror movie. A child witness described them as acting like cavemen, like they had never seen the sun before."

Koch, the mother of the two boys, told officers that her children managed to escape by breaking a window, jumping through it to land on an air conditioning unit, and then running away. Additionally, she disclosed that the home had belonged to her boyfriend, who had been living there since 2007, and she then moved in with her kids four years ago.

When asked about the care of the children, Koch admitted that she had never taken them to see a doctor nor put them through school. Instead, she said that she had homeschooled them.

The Boy's Mother Posted Pictures on Social Media That Falsely Painted Them as a Happy Family

Many were gobsmacked and horrified to learn of the conditions the two boys were living under because Koch had been posting pictures of herself, her boyfriend, and her kids on social media that showed them living the life of a normal and happy family. An array of images shared on her Instagram account showed the celebration of Christmas, Halloween, and an endearing visit from the boys' grandmother.

Pictures of the boys enjoying playing in the snow, baking treats, going on family road trips, and even having birthday celebrations painted a completely different narrative from what was really going on. Koch even went so far as to post tributes to her partner, Manke, calling him the greatest stepfather in the world.

However, all was not as it appeared. After the horrific truth came out, the boys were immediately taken into protective custody, where they received treatment and had to have all their hair shaved off due to the insurmountable amount of feces stuck inside the hair follicles.

Tragically, as a result of their mother's actions, they have been irreversibly damaged. The children are uneducated and not even fully potty trained, currently rendering them utterly incapable of functioning in society successfully.

Both Koch and Manke are now facing an array of felony charges and being accused of child neglect and false imprisonment. Cash bail was set at $30,000 for Koch, and Manke's sits at $6,500.

With a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 26, if found guilty on all felony accounts, the couple will face fines of $120,000 and over 40 years in prison. Additionally, the children's mother may have to pay an additional $20,000 and serve an extra 18 months for two misdemeanor accounts.

All who have followed the story and the neighbors that bore witness to the unthinkable crimes hope for justice to be served. Upon her arrest and interrogation, investigators say Koch admitted:

"The home is not habitable, [and] her boys deserve better."

As the preliminary hearing draws closer, Eder disclosed that after the incident, she and her community have started reinforcing their efforts to look out for each other and be more aware of their surroundings. She also said she is glad the boys have been getting help and are being cared for.

Click here to read another story about another tragic incident of child endangerment in which a young boy was imprisoned in his mother's home and forced to do unspeakable things before he managed to escape and find help.