4 family members plead not guilty in abduction and abuse of a malnourished Iowa teen
By HANNAH FINGERHUT
Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four members of a rural Iowa family have pleaded not guilty in the abduction and abuse of an 18-year-old relative who had allegedly showed up at a hospital so badly beaten that his brain was bleeding and so malnourished that he weighed just 70 pounds (32 kilograms), according to court documents. The suspects are a 44-year-old man, a 42-year-old woman, a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl, all from Zearing, Iowa. They were charged with first-degree kidnapping and willful injury last month. Each submitted a written plea in the weeks since, the last of which was filed Monday.
