A Missouri woman and longtime foster mother is accused of abusing children under her care and, in one bizarre claim, allegedly exchanging a foster child for a monkey.
Missouri woman under instigation
Brenda Deutsch, 70, is at the center of a wide-ranging probe into years of alleged mistreatment of minors.
According to sources cited by KMOV-TV, Deutsch has served as a foster parent to more than 200 children over the course of several decades.
The foster parent now faces charges of child abuse, neglect, and endangerment stemming from accusations that she physically and psychologically harmed a child between September 2022 and January 2025.
Lincoln County prosecutors have charged Deutsch with hitting a child in the face, causing injuries and bleeding, along with other forms of physical, mental, and emotional mistreatment.
An anonymous tip reportedly triggered the current investigation, which has since revealed even more troubling details.
Officials say the child at the center of the case was removed from school in Missouri and transported to Texas.
Conflicting witness statements have added to the confusion surrounding the child’s whereabouts.
Missouri woman allegedly traded child for monkey
One account claimed Deutsch left the child in Texas due to a poor relationship, while another alleged she gave the child away in a trade for a monkey.
Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood told media outlets that the residence in Texas where the child was found was in disrepair and described it as “deplorable,” pointing to burst pipes and poor living conditions.
He added that the adults living in the home appeared to be disabled and that the child may have been caring for them.
Wood also said Deutsch had a pattern of sending children in her care to psychiatric facilities as a form of discipline.
Despite the long history of fostering, Deutsch’s home had been the subject of over 200 calls to Missouri’s child abuse hotline, Wood stated. However, none of those reports ever made it to local law enforcement.
“Disappointed to learn that this particular home, despite the notoriety that it had gained, was not in our system. We didn’t have any police reports. We didn’t have any requests for prosecution. We didn’t have anything,” Wood said.
The Lincoln County Sheriff confirmed that Deutsch had contacted authorities multiple times in the past.
Investigators are now combing through past reports and files to determine if there were any missed warning signs.
Wood warned that the full scope of the case will take considerable time to uncover.
Allegations span more than a decade, and multiple people have since come forward, either identifying themselves as victims or offering testimony as witnesses.
Deutsch is currently incarcerated with her bond set at $250,000 cash-only.
Parents plead guilty to tattooing young children
Meanwhile, in an unrelated case out of Texas, two parents admitted to forcibly tattooing their young children in court.
Megan Farr and her partner Gunner were taken into custody in April of last year after law enforcement received information that they tattooed their two children, ages five and nine. The accusations were supported by a sworn affidavit obtained by KTRE.
One of the children had a tattoo inked onto their foot, while the other received one on the shoulder, the affidavit stated.
Megan Farr pleaded guilty to one count of injuring a child. She also faced charges of unlawful restraint and another injury count, though her final sentencing is still pending.
Gunner entered a guilty plea earlier, on March 19, and was sentenced to two years for unlawful restraint and five years for each of the four injury charges.
Investigators say the parents restrained the children with rope, taped their mouths shut, and covered their eyes with cloth during the tattooing process.
It was the children’s biological father and stepmother who reportedly found the tattoos.
According to the affidavit, the father confronted Megan Farr, who allegedly laughed and drove away, which caused him to alert Child Protective Services.
The affidavit further described how the parents attempted to conceal the tattoos by physically scrubbing, scraping, and cutting the children’s skin. They also tried to use lemon juice to remove the markings.
“It appeared that the flesh was removed from the body at the tattoo’s location,” Zavalla Police Department Interim Chief James Denby previously told KTRE. “This happened about the time that CPS got involved.”
Denby also noted that a tipster turned over a tattoo kit that she claimed had been lent to Gunner. She said she had no idea it would be used on children.
The case led to four children being removed from the home and placed into CPS custody, including the two who were tattooed.
“To forcibly hold down your own children and tattoo them, is completely unacceptable and will never be allowed in Angelina County. You have children who couldn’t stand up for themselves, weren’t allowed to fight back,” said Assistant District Attorney David Griffin.
