Emaciated boy, age 4, "looked like newborn"

An emaciated little boy taken from his father -- after authorities discovered the man had allegedly starved the child as a disciplinary tool -- has spent much of his life amid custody disputes as he bounced from home to home.

Four-year-old Shayne had lived with his father for about a year when Snohomish County sheriff's deputies found him Wednesday.

The boy weighed only 22 pounds -- about half the weight of a healthy boy his age -- and was so weak he couldn't sit up on his own, said sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover. He told deputies he had eaten only popcorn and water that day, she said.

A neighbor said he was so small he "looked like a newborn baby."

The boy is expected to survive, but he faces a long recovery, Hover said. He suffers from conditions associated with severe malnutrition, she said, including hypothermia caused by a lack of body fat, anemia and muscle degeneration.

Deputies arrested the father, 27-year-old Danny J. Abegg, and his 22-year-old girlfriend Friday and took into protective custody their 14-month-old daughter, who appeared healthy and well-nourished, Hover said.

A Snohomish County judge set bail Monday at $250,000 for Abegg, who is being held on suspicion of first-degree criminal mistreatment. His girlfriend was released Sunday on her own recognizance.

Deputy chief prosecutor Joan Cavagnaro said the investigation will determine what charges might be filed.

Cavagnaro said cases of this sort are infrequent, but "I would say this is a bad one."

Shayne spent much of his life bouncing from caretaker to caretaker.

Before living with Abegg, he was cared for by Pamela Taylor of Sequim.

Taylor said Monday that she fought a lengthy battle to gain custody shortly after her son began dating Shayne's mother, Kristine Addington.

At the time, Addington had two children: 1-month-old Shayne and Joey, about 2 years old. Addington had split up with Abegg, also Joey's father, while she was pregnant with Shayne.

Taylor's son began helping care for the boys. But his relationship with their mother lasted only three months, Taylor said.

Taylor said she gained custody of Shayne, then age 5 months, and Joey. She cared for the boys for a year and a half before Abegg reclaimed Joey, she said.

She said Abegg had never known Shayne and "he didn't want Shayne."

Hover said Abegg "told detectives he never felt, or never developed, a parental connection to the child."

Taylor decided she wanted to adopt Shayne. But a year later during proceedings to deny parental rights to Addington, she said, Abegg suddenly decided he wanted the boy.

Taylor didn't want to give Shayne up, she said. But she couldn't afford a lengthy legal fight and didn't expect Abegg to harm him, she said.

"Joey was always clean, well-fed, happy. He adored his dad," Taylor said. "I never had any clue. Otherwise, I'd have probably robbed a bank to get Shayne."

Sheriff's deputies discovered Shayne's precarious condition Wednesday. They went to Abegg's apartment in the 12900 block of East Gibson Road in the South Everett area at the request of a Seattle-based state Child Protective Services caseworker, Hover said.

The boy was in a back bedroom when deputies arrived, and Abegg tried to close the door while he dressed Shayne in a shirt, according to a sheriff's affidavit filed with the court.

"The deputies immediately observed (the boy) was in a severe state of malnutrition and had several marks and bruises," including at least one showing signs of infection, the affidavit said.

Joey was not at the apartment at the time the other children were found, Hover said. Abegg initially told deputies that Shayne always had been skinny and had medical issues, Hover said.

But later, he allegedly told detectives he had denied the child food as a form of discipline and had asked his girlfriend to follow suit.

The girlfriend has denied depriving the child of food, Hover said.

The sheriff's office had no prior contact with the family regarding the child, Hover said. The custody cases took place in Tacoma.

Taylor said she avoided Shayne and his family over the past year to spare herself emotional pain. But she said she still wants to adopt him.

"I'm angry, I'm mad. I'm angry at myself," she said. "I'm worried about Shayne, and what's going to become of him, and can I have him, can I raise him."

Naila Moreira: 425-745-7845 or nmoreira@seattletimes.com. Diane Brooks: 425-745-7802 or dbrooks@seattletimes.com