Jury selection is set to get underway Monday, for the scheduled two-week trial of a Madison man accused of torturing and starving his teenage daughter. Chad Chritton, 41, and his 43 year-old wife Melinda Drabek-Chritton are each charged in Dane County Court with six felonies and a misdemeanor.
Melinda Drabek Chritton has a two-week trial scheduled to start April 9th. The girl was 15 when a motorist called police last February, after seeing the child in pajamas and bare-feet in cold weather. The witness said he mistook the girl for an eight-year-old. Prosecutors said the parents locked the girl in their basement for almost six years until she escaped — and they allegedly refused to give her food as she slimmed down to 68 pounds. The girl told police she was beaten, starved, and forced to eat feces while she was confined.
Prosecutors said the girl is scheduled to testify in both trials. The charges against both parents include false imprisonment, felony abuse, causing mental harm to a child, and reckless endangerment. In addition, the girl’s step-brother, 18 year-old Joshua Drabek, is accused of sexually assaulting her.