Three arrested in Elkins for allegedly shocking, beating, locking child in cold room

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) - Two men and a woman were arrested in Elkins Tuesday after officers said they locked a child in a cold room in addition to shocking him with a stun gun and beating him with a belt.

Officers received a walk-in complaint from a man on Tuesday around 2:05 p.m. who said a little boy came to his window on the roof and asked for a phone, saying he was locked in his room and had to use the bathroom in a jug, according to the criminal complaint.

The man who received the complaint told the boy to quietly go back to his room before going to officers to make the report, according to officers.

The report says officers went to the home and talked to Robert Shaw, 34, who told them there was a boy in the home and gave permission for officers to enter the home.

Officers said they followed Shaw upstairs to a room with a locked door.

Shaw opened the door, and the 8-year-old boy quickly backed into a corner, the criminal complaint says.

Officers said the room was so “frigidly cold” that they could see their breath and the boy’s hands were “like ice.”

The report says officers asked the boy if he was okay, and he said no and began crying.

The boy immediately exposed bruising on his left leg, lower back, and buttocks area, according to officers.

The complaint says the boy told officers he had been locked in the room for approximately a week with only a blanket, a container to use the bathroom in, and a roll of toilet paper.

Officers said Shaw and his mother, Michelle Pelfrey, 44, beat him the night before with a belt and had bruising consistent with a belt.

The boy reportedly told officers that was only fed a meal of white rice once a day and had to knock on the door if he wanted a drink.

The report says Shaw and another male in the home, identified as Michael Pelfrey, 58, had not let him out of the room since the night before when he was “beat.”

Ms. Pelfrey and Shaw would also allegedly chase him with a black “kid taser” that Shaw had used to shock him in the back.

Officers said the boy had obvious injuries consistent with the prongs of a small stun gun.

Mr. Pelfrey and Shaw were placed into police cruisers as the boy pointed out the belt used in the “beating” the night before on Shaw and a stick Mr. Pelfrey used to hit him, according to troopers.

Officers said the boy was transported to the hospital for check-up and treatment as Ms. Pelfrey arrived on scene.

Ms. Pelfrey immediately said to officers, “You guys are here because things got out of hand, right?” before being put into a police cruiser, the criminal complaint says.

Officers said the following items were seized at the home:

• One black stun gun.
• One purple stun gun.
• Two firearms.
• The stick Mr. Pelfrey previously used to hit the boy.
• Multiple electronics.
• Mr. Shaw’s belt.

All three people told officers they were aware of the punishments happening at the home, including locking the boy in the room, feeding him sparingly, making him use the bathroom in a small container, the “beating” that took place, the incidents with the stun gun, and the “whipping” of the belt, the report says.

Shaw and Ms. Pelfrey said that “sometimes things get out of hand,” according to the criminal complaint.

Mr. Pelfrey said to officers that he had not struck the child in approximately 2-3 years, and the last time he did was with a 2x4 that left bruises on him.

Robert Shaw, Michelle Pelfrey, and Michael Pelfrey have all been charged with child neglect with risk of injury and child abuse creating risk of injury, and each are being held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $150,000 bond.

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