Family of mother charged in child neglect case say 'they had no idea'

The brother of a woman facing felony charges related to her children said he was blindsided by reports of the criminal charges.

"Those poor babies. We had no idea. Don't think for a second if we had an idea we wouldn't have taken care of that. I don't know what went wrong or where it went wrong," Matt Koch said.

In a complaint, investigators said neighbors found Katie Koch's two children outside, naked, and dirty with cuts after breaking through a window of their home.

Katie, 34, and her boyfriend Joel Manke, 38, were arrested and charged with chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment.

Matt told TMJ4 News that he has not seen Katie in several years.

Matt, overwhelmed with frustration, said he would not defend his sister and called the situation disgusting. He questioned why Manke did not do more to help the children.

More details here: https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/...

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