Stephanie Ann Schaffner, 42, shared the "Survival Skills" video on Facebook in March 2019. The post resurfaced after Schaffner, the child's mother, Jade Destiny Shuey, 21, and Tucker Flyn Heagy, 20, were charged in connection with the child's living conditions following Friday morning's investigation.
The newly released affidavits expand on Pennsylvania State Police's initial account after the boy was found walking naked on Quarry Road in Swatara Township, Lebanon County, shortly before 7:30 a.m. Friday, July 10. A passing driver spotted the non-verbal child walking toward Little Swatara Creek, wrapped only in a urine-soaked green blanket, according to the affidavit. Good Samaritans stopped to help, and a pediatric nurse covered him with clothing before troopers and EMS arrived.
Troopers traced the child to a nearby home on North Poplar Street, where they found Schaffner, Heagy, and Schaffner's minor daughter asleep inside after repeatedly announcing themselves. Investigators described an overwhelming smell of ammonia from cat urine and feces that irritated their eyes, noses, and throats. Trash, clutter, and hundreds of flies filled the residence, while code enforcement later condemned the property because of the unsanitary conditions, exposed electrical wiring, and an accessible breaker panel, according to the affidavit.
The child's bedroom had a baby gate fastened to the outside of the door frame with numerous zip ties and Gorilla Glue duct tape. Wooden boards had also been drilled above the doorway to prevent him from escaping. Inside the room, troopers found feces smeared across the walls and window, a bed covered in food, trash scattered across the floor, and hundreds of flies, investigators wrote.
During questioning, Schaffner told investigators she, Heagy, and Shuey routinely cut between five and 10 zip ties whenever they let the child out before securing the gate again with five to 10 new zip ties and duct tape. She said they regularly bought zip ties in bulk and planned to purchase a 1,000-count package because they went through so many. When asked whether the home's conditions were acceptable for a child, Schaffner replied they were not, according to the affidavit.
Heagy gave investigators a similar account, saying the child often fought being returned to the room and the adults repeatedly replaced the zip ties after locking him back inside. He also acknowledged the home's conditions were not suitable for a child, according to court documents.
Shuey told investigators her son spent about 90 percent of his day confined to the room, where he was fed through the baby gate with cereal, granola bars, juice, milk, and water. She estimated the longest he had remained locked inside was three days and said he frequently urinated, defecated, and smeared feces on the walls and window. She also admitted there were times he went more than a week without a bath, according to the affidavit.
Schaffner has multiple prior convictions in Lebanon County, including felony theft in 2002, misdemeanor theft in 2013, drug paraphernalia possession, and an accident involving damage to an attended vehicle in 2015, and two retail theft convictions later that year, court records also show.
Schaffner, Shuey, and Heagy are each charged with felony endangering the welfare of children. Their cases remain pending.
Click here to read the original Daily Voice report: 5-Year-Old Found Naked After Escaping Baby Gate Barricade: PSP.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
