A 53-year-old woman from Oklahoma was arrested after allegedly drugging her grandchildren and locking them in a dog cage when she left the house.
Davena Dian Marx was arrested last month and charged with one count of child abuse and one count of child neglect, according to court records obtained by Law&Crime.
The investigation into Marx began last year, when officers from the Warr Acres Police Department and an Oklahoma Department of Health Services social worker responded to a tip that children were being abused at Marx’s home in March 2024, according to Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV.
Shortly after arriving at the address, Marx’s 8-year-old granddaughter reportedly texted the social worker, “She is mean to us and very abusive.”
The children were then separated from Marx, and the granddaughter reportedly told authorities, “Memaw sells drugs and uses them.”
“She makes us stay in the dog cage when she wants to go outside by herself,” the child allegedly added.
The children were taken to a Safe Clinic for medical examinations and forensic interviews about the ordeal. Doctors reportedly found bruising on the granddaughter’s back consistent with being whipped with a belt.
During the forensic interview, the children alleged that Marx physically and emotionally abused them, forcing them to perform calisthenic exercises until their limbs gave out.
Marx’s 10-year-old grandson allegedly told police that his grandmother gave him prescription drugs that were not intended for him on a regular basis.
While Marx denied giving the boy any drugs, Warr Acres Assistant Police Chief Jason Allen confirmed to KWTV that the child tested positive for Seroquel, a sleep-inducing antipsychotic drug allegedly prescribed to Marx.
Neighbors, who said Marx was still hoping to regain custody of the children after they were taken away last year, told police that Marx verbally abused the children, calling them “worthless” and “little bastards.”
Other neighbors reported seeing the children with bruised faces and dumpster diving for food scraps.
At least one neighbor also claimed to have seen the children crying while locked in a cage designed for a large dog.
According to one of the neighbors, Marx first obtained legal custody of the children after their father, Devyn Wayne Hinkle, Marx’s son, passed away in 2022.
According to a GoFundMe page, Hinkle was shot during a road rage incident on November 25, 2022, around 2:35 p.m.
According to Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR, Kasey McConville shot and killed the 31-year-old Hinkle while he was driving a red pickup truck near Northwest 10th Street and Meridian Avenue.
Authorities discovered him lying in the street next to his truck and transported him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
McConville was reportedly driving a “hearse-like” vehicle with a Christmas wreath hanging on the side. Several witnesses gave police consistent accounts of the shooting, and he was arrested later that day.
He was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2024, according to court records. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by 15 years on supervised release.
