WASHINGTON, Pa. -- A Washington woman is accused of locking her 10-year-old grandson in a feces-filled dog crate for about 90 minutes.

Police said Rhonda Lehman, 51, of Fayette Street, put the boy in the crate Saturday after he laced the family's drinks with lamp oil and household cleaner because he was angry with the family.



"The grandmother stated that the kid was poisoning the entire family by pouring lamp oil and a household cleaner by the name of 'Bam' into their drinks," said James Markley of the Washington Police Department.

Lehman told police the whole family felt as if they had the flu for about a month.

She is charged with child endangerment and terroristic threats.

Police said Lehman also told a Washington County agency if someone didn't come for the boy, she would bury him alive in the back yard.

When police arrived at the home on Fayette Street, they found the boy with a bruised face and black eye.

"He was scared," said Markley. "I asked him how did you get the black eye. He told me that his brother did it."

When asked why he was trying to poison his family, Markley said the boy told him he "was angry, because he didn't get to go on a trip."

The boy's 24-year-old brother, Michael McCreery, is charged with punching the youngster.

The 10-year-old is now with the county's Children and Youth Services agency.

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Good grief! They all sound nuts! Maybe they can help the little guy, poisoning his family is quite drastic..... He was treating them the way they treated him.

I don't know what's more amazing, the fact that nobody was killed, or the fact that there wasn't a trailer involved.

Tried to poison the rest of the family cause they wouldn't let him go on a trip? Disney HAD to be involved in this somehow. Can't imagine what he would do if he got grounded. 10 years old, damn, after some of the things I've seen down here in S. Fla. you would think that I would be bothered by much anymore, but 10 years old...*shakes his head*...that's rough.

Well, with the grandmother's solution to his trying to kill the family....do you think this was learned behaviour? It makes me wonder what else was going on in that house?

That was my first thought too... my guess this is just another in a long string of behavior/punishment screw ups on the part of the parents/grandparents.

99.9% sure that a 10 year who tries to poison a family, who is punished that way, learned that behavior. Besides, who keeps a dog crate filled with waste around their house anyway? That speaks volumes for these people as well.

Hopefully this will get the kid out of that environment and into one where he can get some behavior help.

We can only speculate what went on in that house, but being a father myself and being able to observe first-hand child behavior, I've come to realize that kids do what they SEE and HEAR everyday. Personality traits passed-down from parent to child play a part in how those stimulus are interpreted and acted upon, but 1st hand observation is usually where it begins, IMO.

Yea, I read it as been more abuse in that house then was stated in the paper....If you live with it awhile, you think it's normal...a 24 year old brother, punching a 10 year old tells me alot, along with the filthy crate...

There is just too many nuts in this family tree, these nuts are too bitter for the palate.

That's what I was thinking...There's something more going on...

"He said goodbye to his grandmother, and she didn't seem remorseful for anything she did," said Markley. "She told him not to come back. When I asked the brother, 'Why would you punch a 10-year-old in the eye?' He said, 'It's better than what I wanted to do to him.'"

Wow. I'm going to say that this poor kid was definitely reacting the way he had learned to, from the rest of the family. They all sound like a bunch of nuts, and I'm glad the kid is out of there, and can hopefully get help.

Exactly what i was thinking! Hope the boy gets a good home where he can be helped, and live a decent life! As for the grandmother and the rest it sounds like their beyond help, and i,m left speechless!

I hate to sound sadistic but... eye for an eye?

I really makes me wonder what else the kid had gone through at that house.

I'm sure it's alot more than they wrote about.......

terroristic threats wtf?

This is wrong on so many levels. A 24 year old - a grown man - punching his 10 year old brother like that. as for the Gran's thing she did to him. If he's brought up with those people, naturally he's going to take the action that he did.

I WAS wondering about that one myself..... ???

Maybe when the grandmother told authorities that she would bury the boy alive if someone didn't come to take him away. I suppose that could be considered terrorist threatening?

I say if the 'ol bag wants to be a suicide bomber in a deserted area, who are we to stop her.