Metro Couple And Roommate Face Child Neglect, Abuse Charges

A metro couple's roommate has been charged for severely injuring their three-week-old baby. Oklahoma City police uncovered a pattern of abuse after learning another baby and toddler were allegedly harmed by 26-year-old Richard Freeman.

Oklahoma County prosecutors also charged the parents with enabling child abuse and child neglect. Police said Nadya Rubio and Patrick Stiefer were arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center over the weekend.

“This case started back in August,” said Msgt. Gary Knight, Oklahoma City Police Department.

Knight said that was when Rubio and Stiefer took their three-week-old baby boy to OU Children's Hospital. Police were told the infant had abusive head trauma consistent with being shaken.

“That child was in critical condition,” said Knight. 

The couple told police the baby was left in the care of their roommate. As police continued to investigate, they learned Freeman possibly harmed the couple's two-year-old daughter and their other three-week-old baby over the course of several months. According to an arrest warrant, the first incident involved the toddler. Police said Freeman dislocated the child's shoulder while swinging her by the arms. The second time police said the couple’s other baby had bruises all over his head, face, and neck. Freeman told them he tripped and had to catch the infant by the face and head.

“In this case there was evidence the parents understood that this person had injured their children before,” said Knight. “And they chose to leave their children in the case of this person.”

Investigators also described the family's home as filthy.

“It was a house of squalor,” said Knight. “There was trash everywhere. There were animal feces everywhere.”

Freeman has not been arrested. He is wanted for charges of child abuse and child neglect.