Malnourished boy's parents charged

MOSES LAKE - The parents of a 2-year-old boy reportedly found weighing 10 pounds are facing charges in Grant County Superior Court.

On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Michelle K. J. Staats, 32, and Robert Staats, both of Moses Lake, with first-degree criminal mistreatment, second-degree criminal mistreatment and possession of marijuana.

Deputies and paramedics found the 2-year-old boy at a Cascade Valley home in May where his mother, Michelle K. J. Staats, was administering CPR to the child.

The boy exhibited signs of extreme malnourishment, including no muscle tone, no hair, a core temperature of 89 degrees, blood loss from the rectum and initially no heartbeat, according to a search warrant issued for the Shorecrest Drive home.

He was revived by paramedics and transported to Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake, and airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

In July, the boy was transferred from Sacred Heart to an undisclosed location.