This article contains graphic descriptions of child abuse. Please take care while reading.
In 2014, a horrific child abuse case was exposed in the Houston area, known today as “The Boy Under the Stairs,” when 5-year-old Jordan Bleimeyer was found trapped in a closet and clinging to life.
That year, police were called to the Bleimeyer home in the Houston area because a fight broke out between Jordan’s father, Bradley Bleimeyer, and one of the teenage children living in the home. The 16-year-old reportedly acted out on purpose, hoping the police would arrive and rescue Jordan. While at the house, police found Jordan forced to live in what was essentially an unfinished crawlspace, weighing just 29 pounds, and badly injured.
“During that fight, [the teenager] caused enough noise, raised enough of a ruckus that somebody called police and that was the triggering event that led to Jordan’s rescue. Had he not done that, I believe Jordan would have died,” Assistant Harris County District Attorney Stephen Driver told The Houston Chronicle.
Jordan Bleimeyer was wearing a diaper
Authorities learned Jordan’s stepmother, Tammi Bleimeyer, and father, Bradley, withheld food from Jordan, punished him with a stun gun, and trapped him in the crawlspace for weeks where he was found, wearing a diaper and with no pillow or mattress to sleep on. Try as they might, Jordan’s stepsiblings were forbidden from helping him, and Bradley was known to beat Jordan as punishment. In a perverse twist, the Bleimeyer family reportedly called where Jordan lived the “Harry Potter Room.”
Tammi was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the abuse, and Jordan’s father, Bradley was sentenced to 15 years in jail in a plea deal. Once rescued, Jordan went to live with his biological mother and has since recovered. With evidence of abuse from Tammi and Bradley, Tammi also lost custody of her biological children.
In 2014, Dr. Phil covered the Jordan Bleimeyer case in an exclusive interview with Jordan’s mother, Windy Hall. Hall said Tammi and Bradey kept Jordan from her for two years before the abuse was discovered. “It’s something no child should ever, ever have to endure. I think those people are monsters,” Hall said.
Dr. Phil has also interviewed three of Jordan’s siblings, and he confronted Jordan’s mother about what she’d done while going inside the Bleimeyer house in an episode streaming now on Dr Phil’s website.
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788.