TORRINGTON, Conn. — A Stratford couple has been charged in the death of a 19-year-old Torrington man with cerebral palsy who drowned in a bathtub in 2025. Police allege the couple cut off his access to food and left him by himself on the day he died, Patch reported.

Martha Almonte, 39, the mother of Marcos Pichardo Almonte, and his stepfather, Jeickson Perez-Barahona, 37, face counts of criminally negligent homicide and cruelty to persons, according to Patch. Torrington police obtained warrants for their arrest Monday, and the two were later arrested at the Stratford home where they now live. Each was held on $500,000 surety bond, and both were scheduled for arraignment Friday in Superior Court in Torrington, Patch reported.

The charges are allegations, and both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Police began investigating on Nov. 13, 2025, when a relative stopped by the Torrington home to check on the young man and found him unresponsive and partly submerged in the tub, Patch reported. Emergency crews pronounced him dead there, and an autopsy determined that he drowned, police said, according to Patch.

Police said his cerebral palsy severely limited his movement and that he needed help to stand or walk. Investigators noticed he was extremely thin, and police said he showed signs of severe malnourishment.

According to police, the couple knew he could not get around on his own but left him alone that day and drove to Danbury. Police also allege they kept him from food by using ratchet straps and cord to tie shut the kitchen cabinets, the freezer and the fridge, and by screwing closed the door to the basement, where more food was stored.

"The only food available to Marcos were pre-portioned amounts left out for him," police said, as quoted by Patch.

The arrests came almost exactly a year after his death.