When city police officers arrived at Lisa Marie Davis’ home at 2324 W. Fourth St. about 3 p.m. on Aug. 10 to assist the county’s Children and Youth Department, they immediately noticed her malnourished teenage son, who, because of his medical condition, needs to be “fed four times a day through a feeding tube,” according to an affidavit. The teen “had very little mass to his limbs and was in poor health,” police said. In the summer of 2022, Davis, 29, “took full custody of her son from a healthcare facility,” but investigators allege that she has been negligent in his care “for a considerable length of time,” court records stated.

Davis, who told police that she lost in-home care services for her son eight months ago, admitted that she “sometimes misses her son’s overnight feedings due to caring for other kids or sleeping,” the affidavit stated. “Medical documents stated that overnight feedings account for 45% of the teen’s required daily intake,” according to the court document.

The son was in such poor condition that he had to be hospitalized for nearly 30 weeks, police said. The boy is now in protective custody. Davis was arraigned earlier this month before Gardner on felony charges of endangering the welfare of a child, neglect of care for a dependent person and recklessly endangering another person, a misdemeanor. “She repeatedly failed to provide food and care for her child,” it was alleged in court papers. Initially jailed, Davis has since been released on $15,000 bail.