Teen locked in room says he didn’t see sun for two years

DALLAS An 18-year-old who says he was confined to a room in a home with little food for years was so malnourished he still had his baby teeth and looked much younger than his age, a detective testified Thursday.

“I thought he was a 12-year-old boy,” said Det. Kevin Morgan with the Paulding County Sheriff ’s Office. The teen stood five-foot-one and weighed 87 pounds when he was found in downtown Los Angeles.

The teen’s skin was translucent, and he told investigators he hadn’t seen the sun in two years, Morgan said.

Mitch Comer’s stepfather, Paul Comer, and mother, Sheila Comer, were arrested last month and face charges of cruelty to children and false imprisonment. They appeared in court on Thursday for a probable cause hearing.

Mitch Comer told investigators he was confined to a bathroom and a bedroom for years and wasn’t fed often, occasionally getting soup or cereal but little of substance, Morgan said.

The Comers’ two daughters, who are 11 and 13, told investigators they heard him cry and scream for food often, Morgan said.

The detectives described Comer’s confinement, which began in a 6-by-8 bathroom locked by a deadbolt. The house was filthy and smelled bad, the detectives said, but the bathroom was spotless — Mitch Comer told them he cleaned it often to escape boredom.

He was held there for a year before being moved to an adjoining bedroom, where the door was blocked by a refrigerator. When asked why he didn’t escape through a window, Shelton said, Mitch Comer replied: “I’m afraid of bugs.”