REDSTONE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Disturbing video obtained by the Daily Mail shows three young boys climbing out of a bedroom window and running across a porch roof at a house in Redstone Township, footage that investigators say fits a wider pattern of alleged neglect that led to the arrest of the children’s parents last week.
Court records and a criminal complaint filed by police allege that the five children — four boys and a girl, ages 5 to 14 — were kept for long periods in a single, squalid bedroom with boarded windows, no beds, feces smeared on the walls, fleas and limited food and clothing. The complaint says video cameras were hardwired to the father’s bedroom and that the bedroom door was secured from the outside with three deadbolts and no interior handle.
James Kahl, 65, and his wife Carly Kahl, 41, were arrested Sept. 9 and are charged with endangering the welfare of children and other offenses, according to Fayette County authorities. The five children had been removed from the home on Aug. 8 after Fayette County Children and Youth Services (CYS) investigated a tip from a family member, the complaint states.
The April video, obtained by the Daily Mail, shows three boys scrambling across an old shingle porch roof after climbing out of a bedroom window while no adults are visible. A separate clip shot a day earlier shows two children on the same roof peering into another bedroom window before attempting to open it and then returning through their window when unable to do so.
The criminal complaint alleges one child was punished with a stun gun and that the father told investigators he would not remove the locks from the bedroom door. During a search of the property, police said they found a stun gun, a replica pistol, video surveillance equipment, drugs and drug paraphernalia.
According to court records reviewed by the Daily Mail and accounts from neighbors, the children were frequently observed unsupervised in the neighborhood, sometimes without shoes, riding bicycles and climbing on roofs. One neighbor told reporters she once called police when an autistic boy from the household appeared at her door wearing only a pull-up in near-freezing temperatures. Neighbors said they were surprised by the severity of the conditions described in the complaint, noting the family kept to themselves despite visible signs that the children had limited adult supervision.
Rachel Silbaugh, who identified herself as the biological mother of the two oldest children, told WTAE-TV that she had fought for custody after seeing signs of abuse on her non-verbal, autistic son and that she had filed protection-from-abuse orders against James Kahl in 2016. Silbaugh alleged that Kahl used a stun gun on her autistic son while the child was in his care.
After the children were removed from the home, CYS placed three of the boys in the care of Carly Kahl’s adoptive mother, Autumn Laskody, and her husband, Randy, who declined to comment to reporters. Court records indicate a fourth boy with a disability is in specialized care and the girl is staying with a friend.
Social media posts attributed to James Kahl include images and comments that investigators and neighbors say may shed light on his attitudes toward discipline and the household’s conditions. One post shared in 2015 showed a wooden paddle and asked rhetorically how many children received paddlings in school; another post in 2019 suggested the family’s preferred Christmas gifts were basic utilities and groceries. Carly Kahl’s social media contained photographs of children inside the home amid piles of clothing on dirty carpeting.
Neighbors described years of intermittent contact with the children — playing with them or speaking to them when they appeared on porches or in yards — but said no one was close enough to the family to know what investigators later found inside the house. Several neighbors said James Kahl possessed a sizable collection of vehicles and equipment, even as they saw few signs of typical household provisioning for the children.
The Kahls remain in custody pending further proceedings. A preliminary court hearing is scheduled for Sept. 17. Authorities did not release additional details about the criminal counts beyond the child endangerment allegations in the complaint.
Fayette County Children and Youth Services and the county prosecutor’s office have declined to disclose information about the ongoing child welfare and criminal investigations beyond what is in court filings and the public record. The case is under active review by law enforcement and local child welfare officials, and additional charges or findings could be announced as investigators continue to examine the home and the circumstances that led to the children’s removal.