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Affidavit: Iowa family abused adult son for years

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June 19th, 2013 by Ric Hanson

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Council Bluffs family of three adults has been accused of severely beating the father’s 20-year-old son over several years. An affidavit says the abuse included the son being starved, chained with a dog leash and forced to sleep while standing.

The son, who ran away from home around March, was described in the affidavit as “mentally handicapped” without further explanation. He told authorities his father, 51-year-old James Beyer Jr., and his stepmother, 45-year-old Rebecca Beyer, had abused him for years. He says his stepmother often burned him with utensils heated from a stove.

Rebecca Beyer’s son, 22-year-old Ryan Smith, is accused of punching and kicking the man on previous occasions. Police arrested the Beyers and Smith on Wednesday. They each face first-degree kidnapping charges.