Newington Couple Locked Children in Dog Cage as Punishment: Police

The couple is accused of striking their two adoptive children with paddles, failing to feed the children, and locking the children in dog cages

Newington, Connecticut, police have arrested a couple accused of locking their children in dog cages as a form of punishment when they lived on Kirkham Street in Newington.

Michael Thalmann, 44, and Jennifer Thalmann, 48, of Audubon, Pennsylvania, turned themselves in to Newington police on active arrest warrants around 4 p.m. Sunday. They are each charged with cruelty to persons and risk of injury to a minor.

The couple is accused of striking their two adoptive children with paddles, failing to feed the children, and locking the children in dog cages.

They were each released on a $250,000 bond and appeared in court Monday, where they pleaded not guilty.

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