ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Had the boys remained at home in that environment, they would likely have died.
That was the testimony of two pediatricians from Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital on Wednesday at a preliminary hearing for a Lower Macungie Township couple charged with conspiracy to commit murder by trying to starve their twin teenage boys.
Dr. Kristen Predergast and Dr. Lindsey Kudenchak testified before District Judge Michael J. Faulkner that the degree of malnutrition and cardiac problems, among others, they found in 15-year-old boys during their hospital stay in January would likely have led to their deaths had the abuse continued.
Prendergast described seeing ribs and spine due to the emaciated body of Twin 1.
“Because [Twin 1] had no access to proper nutrition and calories, he had abnormalities consistent that would put him at death,” Prendergast told Sara Heimbach, Lehigh County assistant district attorney and lead prosecutor.
Tracy Dechant, the boys’ biological mother, and Joshua Dechant, their stepfather, face two counts each of conspiracy to commit murder in the third degree, aggravated assault, unlawful restraint of a minor, false imprisonment, simple assault and reckless endangerment.
After the six-hour hearing, Faulkner determined there was enough evidence to send those charges to Lehigh County Court.
Faulkner dismissed two counts of intimidation of a witness.
A formal arraignment is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. June 26 before Lehigh County Judge James T. Anthony.
'A couple of weeks, months'
Predergast, who only examined Twin 1, described him as severely underweight, malnourished, diagnosed with multiple vitamin deficiencies and muscle wasting.
The boy also had sores throughout his body from sleeping on a hard floor, shortness of breath, headache and no reflexes in his lower extremities.
Asked by Heimbach what she believed would have become of the boy if he remained at home in the same environment, Prendergast said, “our concerns are that he would die” due to the changes in their electrolytes and electrocardiogram readings.
Each of the boys was severely undersized for his age, with each about 4-feet-9 and 52 pounds.
Sarah Charette and Molly Heidorn, attorneys for Tracy and Joshua Dechants, respectively, argued there was not enough evidence for the charges.
They noted that identification of who allegedly caused the conditions was never made.
Charette said there was a “nebulous” connection between the boys’ conditions and whether it could lead to their deaths.
Neither defendant spoke at the hearing.
Kudenchak, who cared for Twin 2 during his stay at Reilly Children’s Hospital in January, said the boy’s EKG changes would have ultimately left him with a cardiac event that led to death.
“I can’t be exact,” Kudenchak told Heimbach as to how long Twin 2 may have lived without medical treatment. “A couple of weeks, months.”
On Jan. 22, neighbors called police after one of the boys, nearly naked, banged on a neighbor's door pleading for help.
The boy weighed 55 pounds — 98 pounds less than doctors would expect for a child his size and age, according to court records.
When police responded to the 1200 block of Divot Drive, they found Twin 1 inside the Dechant's home weighing 53 pounds, investigators said.
The boys now reside with their paternal grandparents.
'He was hungry, so we fed him'
Ann Bertram lives next door to the Dechants. Once friendly with them, the relationship changed in December 2022, she told Heimbach.
In the early evening hours of Jan. 18, Twin 1 rang the Bertrams' doorbell wearing only a hoodie, sweatpants and no socks. She said she noticed his gaunt appearance, as she hadn’t seen him in some time.
“He said he was hungry, so we fed him,” Bertram said. “Then my husband texted Josh to say he was in our home.”
Bertram said that at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 22, on a cold night with snow on the ground, there was a knock on the back door of her home. It again was Twin 1.
“He had on a long-sleeve performance shirt and basketball shorts, but no shoes or socks,” Bertram said. “His legs looked like candlesticks and his feet were very red, like the color of ketchup.”
The Bertrams fed Twin 1 again. The boys' father knocked on the front door, but he was not allowed in. They sent him to the basement and called 911 and police arrived.
Under cross examination, Molly Heidorn, attorney for Joshua Dechants, defined Bertram’s testimony as hearsay.
Autumn Zackowski, a child protection social worker at Reilly Children’s Hospital, testified that in January of this year, Twin 2 disclosed to her at the hospital the abuse he and his brother endured at home.
Among the punishments that were meted out by their parents were standing in the cold for two minutes for each punishment.
Another was being forced to shower in cold water and wash each part of their body. Punishment for failure to do so would be back out in the cold for two minutes.
Twin 2 "said they had to sleep on the floor with only one blanket,” Zackowski testified. “He was not allowed to wear clothing in the house and was forced to walk around naked.
“At mealtime, he said they weren’t allowed the same sized meals as their siblings and would be punished if they took too big a bite from a smaller sized spoon.”
'I just don't know how'
The boys were not allowed to speak to each other, Zackowski said Twin 2 told her.
Heimbach asked if the boys saw each other at the hospital.
“Yes,” she said. “The visit went very well. It was emotional. They hugged each other.”
State Police Trooper Steven Potynski Jr., lead investigator in the case, described photos and text exchanges between the Dechants from Oct. 12 to Jan. 22.
The cellphones and other electronic devices were obtained during a warrant search of the home.
The photos depicted one or both boys in the back deck of their residence in their underwear or shirtless with their arms hugging their torso because of the cold.
Other camera images from the many surveillance cameras mounted throughout the home, including in the boys' bedroom.
Some photos showed them sleeping naked or half-naked on the floor beside each other, sharing a blanket and pillow.
Among the text exchanges that were read by Potynski were comments from January 2024 from Tracy Dechants, venting to her husband about the boys’ rabid appetites, which was leading to her frustration with them.
In one of the exchanges, Tracy Denchants suggested to Josh Denchants that the boys might have a food issue and that it might be best if they ran away from home.
“I just can’t do this anymore,” the wife texted. “They have to be eating average-sized meals. You can’t leave them for a second. It’s constant.”
Said her husband: “I thought maybe pump them with sleep medications every night and send them to bed.”
“Sleep meds probably make sense,” she replied.
Another text exchange:
Tracy Denchants: "I feel like they need love. I just don’t know how.”
Josh Denchants: “They need to stop being [expletive, expletive]. It’s not you.”
