Family members charged with child abuse to face trial

A Joplin man and his mother accused of malnourishing a child in their care will go to trial.

Paul Kubie Jr., 28, has been charged with four counts of child endangerment and one count of child abuse in connection with an incident in February. <font size="-1">Sharon </font>Twocrows and Kubie's 26-year-old wife, Chasity, each face four counts of child endangement and two charges of felony child abuse.

Four children ranging in age from 5 years to 5 months were removed from the Kubies' northern Newton County home in February after deputies investigated a telephone hot line tip.

The Kubies are aunt and uncle to at least two of the children, a 5-year-old and a 4-year-old who are brothers. A probable cause affidavit did not state the Kubies' relationship to the other two children, a 2-year-old girl and an infant girl. All of the children have the same last name, and Twocrows is the paternal grandmother.

According to police, the 4-year-old weighed just 22 pounds at the time he was removed from the home and told authorities he "sometimes gets to eat with everyone else" and when he misbehaves, he is forced to stand on his bed while everyone else eats.

The boy also had marks on his body, and told authorities he is sometimes tied to his bed at night with shoelaces to keep him "from getting into things," according to police reports.

The boy and a 2-year-old girl also had bruises on their bodies. Authorities said the girl's bruises appeared to have been caused by an athletic shoe, while the boy had bruises all over his body, including one that wrapped around his left arm.

Twocrows will be back in court for a pre-trial conference on Monday, while Paul Kubie will appear for a pre-trial conference July 14. Chasity Kubie will also appear for a pre-trial conference on Monday, with her trial set to begin Aug. 6.

Neosho Daily News