Missouri couple ‘locked sons in chicken pen, shot them’ in shocking abuse case

A Missouri woman and her boyfriend have been accused of subjecting her children to years of shocking abuse, including allegedly locking two teenage boys inside a chicken pen and shooting at them with BB guns.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Chantel Spring Hayford and her partner Jerry Allen Menees, both of Potosi, were arrested on January 13 after deputies searched their home, reports KFVS.

Prosecutors allege the pair confined two boys aged 13 and 14 in the pen ‘for the purpose of terrorising’ them.

Court records show Hayford faces charges including first-degree kidnapping, sexual abuse, child endangerment and domestic assault. Menees has been charged with first-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon plus a related charge and multiple counts of abuse and assault.

Investigators claim the abuse formed part of a wider pattern between January 2023 and December 2025, which included forcing siblings to fight each other and violent incidents at family events.

One boy told authorities Menees pointed a real gun at him and threatened to kill him if he spoke out.

Prosecutors also allege the children were exposed to drugs and alcohol, and that Hayford engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour involving one child.

Both defendants are expected to appear in court on January 20, according to online records.