PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac couple, as well as their adult son, appeared in court on Friday for allegedly starving and torturing their young children, where doctors described two of the children as being emaciated and malnourished.
Auturo Bazan-Perez, 43, and his wife, Dulce Crystal Bazan Castillo, 42, were charged with two counts of first-degree child abuse and two counts of torture.
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Their adult son, Carlos Bazan-Hernandez, 24, is also facing the same charges. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said he acted as a disciplinarian.
WARNING: Some of the details that were revealed in court on Friday are graphic in nature.
Background
The investigation began when a 9-year-old was taken to a local hospital on Nov. 17, 2025, after the sheriff’s office said he was suffering a cardiac arrest due to malnutrition.
According to authorities, Bazan-Perez and Castillo took the boy to the hospital and said he was suffering a medical condition.
The sheriff’s office said the 9-year-old had to be intubated and was airlifted to another hospital for specialized care.
After further investigation, detectives said they discovered Bazan-Perez and Castillo‘s 11-year-old son was severely malnourished. He was taken from his home and was hospitalized. Both are expected to recover, the sheriff’s office said.
Officials said the 9-year-old weighed 33 pounds, and the 11-year-old weighed 43 pounds.
According to the sheriff’s office, the boys were enrolled in Pontiac schools and appeared to be eating at least two meals a day at school.
They were unenrolled from school in September 2025. Bazan-Perez allegedly told school officials that they were either moving back to Mexico or another state.
The sheriff’s office said the boys’ diet consisted mainly of sporadic meals of rice after they stopped attending school.
They were also reportedly not permitted to leave their bedroom. Their windows were screwed shut, and the window glass was painted over, officials said.
Two other children were living in the home, a 1-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl. According to authorities, those children were fed a normal diet and appeared to be healthy. They were removed from their home by Child Protective Services.
Preliminary hearing
On Feb. 27, 2026, the couple and their adult son appeared in court for their preliminary hearing, where a judge determines if there is enough evidence to move the case to circuit court.
Bazan-Perez and Castillo waived their right to a preliminary hearing and advanced their case to circuit court. Bazan-Hernandez proceeded to the hearing.
Within the first few hours of the preliminary hearing, two doctors testified to their examinations of the children.
Here are the two doctors’ testimonies heard in court on Feb. 27, 2026:
Child described as ‘skin and bones’
An endocrinologist, a doctor specializing in treating disorders of the endocrine system, testified that he has treated the 9-year-old child since 2023.
The endocrinologist said the 9-year-old child had growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and helped treat the child with growth hormone therapy. He recommended treatments for the child to the parents and their adult son.
The endocrinologist testified that there were some issues in giving the child consistent treatment due to the cost or availability.
He said he saw the child in April 2025 and did not see him again until the child was hospitalized in November 2025.
When he saw the child in the hospital on Nov. 18, 2025, he said the child lost 33% of his body weight since he saw him last. The endocrinologist testified that the lack of treatment for the child’s GHD would not explain the dramatic amount of weight loss within seven months.
The endocrinologist recalled seeing the child in a “near-death experience,” and said the child’s condition was “life-threatening” and “unbelievable.” He also described the child as “skin and bones.”
“It was really profound to see him in that state,” the endocrinologist said.
Bazan-Hernandez’s defense attorney asked the endocrinologist if he was aware of the child’s biological mother’s medical history, as Castillo is the child’s stepmother. The doctor said he was not aware. Before the attorney tried to dive into the mother’s medical history, the judge stopped him and asked him to move on.
Pediatrician: ‘Worst case I seen in my two-decade career’
A pediatrician who specializes in child abuse pediatrics, and has been practicing in the field for 20 years, testified she examined the 9-year-old child and his 11-year-old sibling in the hospital in November 2025.
She recalled the 9-year-old child being very emaciated and unable to breathe on his own. She said one nurse had to perform CPR on the child because she didn’t feel a pulse.
She described the child’s state of malnutrition happened over a prolonged period, ranging from many weeks to months. She noted that the 9-year-old only weighed 4 pounds more than his 19-month-old sibling.
The pediatrician explained that the child’s glucose levels were so low that they reached a point where brain cells could die.
She also said the child’s body temperature was around 91 degrees Fahrenheit. A child’s average temperature ranges from 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit.
The pediatrician also mentioned that in her career, she spent a year in East Africa treating people living in impoverished conditions. She testified that she has never seen a child so malnourished like this 9-year-old in her two-decade career.
“You could see every rib on both sides,” the pediatrician said while describing the child’s body. “You can see each individual vertebrae.”
Photos of the malnourished child were shown in court, with the pediatrician pointing out the child’s state.
“As sad as it is to say, he was skin and bones,” she said.
The pediatrician said the 9-year-old child had lanugo, hair typically found in infants during pregnancy to keep them warm. By the time the baby is born, the hair is supposed to disappear.
The child having lanugo was a sign that the body needed to self-regulate, the pediatrician said. So, the child’s body abnormally grew lanugo to help him survive.
She also said there was evidence on the child’s body that a tool was used to injure him. She then pointed out multiple injuries on the child.
The pediatrician said Bazan-Hernandez told her that the child liked to eat and ate three meals a day. She said this was not consistent with the child’s state.
Bazan-Hernandez also allegedly told the pediatrician that he provided “military discipline” as punishment for his younger siblings. He made his siblings do jumping jacks or push-ups.
The pediatrician said the child would not be able to do exercise in his emaciated condition. She said malnourished children need to be on bed rest to recover. She also said it would be painful for a malnourished child to exercise.
“Definitely the worst case I seen in my two-decade career,” she stated.
She also examined the 9-year-old child’s 11-year-old sibling, who she described as also being malnourished but not as severely.
Preliminary hearing continues
The hearing for Bazan-Hernandez continues on Feb. 27.
A date for the Pontiac couple’s arraignment in circuit court has not yet been set.