Crime Pa. Couple Sentenced for Starving Children — Who Ate Peeled Paint off Walls to Survive While the Weyants starved the children, they overfed their dogs By Harriet Sokmensuer Published on May 8, 2018 01:17 PM Share Tweet Pin Email A Pennsylvania couple who starved three children in their care to the point that they resorted to eating paint off their bedroom’s walls were sentenced to lengthy prison terms Monday, according to multiple reports. In February, Joshua Weyant, 34, and Brandi Weyant, 39, of Halifax, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, conspiracy, false imprisonment, unlawful restraining and child endangerment, the Associated Press reports. On Monday, Joshua Weyant was sentenced by a Dauphin County judge to 19½ to 39½ years in state prison. His wife Brandi was sentenced to 18¾ to 37½ years, according to Pennlive.com. The children— ages 4, 5 and 6 — were not the couple’s biological children and were close to dying of malnutrition, according to WPXI. Dauphin County • Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Dauphin County Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle told Pennlive.com in February that police and workers from Children & Youth Services visited the Weyants’ home in 2016 after receiving an anonymous tip. According to Gettle, the children were found in an unheated bedroom that lacked furniture including beds, the outlet reported. Gettle said paint was missing from the walls for as high as the children could reach because the children were eating it “to try to survive.” “One child taught herself to regurgitate her food so she could eat it again” Nicole Smith, a former Children & Youth Services caseworker told the judge. “There’s nothing any child could do to deserve this treatment.” Smith said that while they underfed the children, the Weyants overfed their dogs, reports Pennlive.com, saying that piles of dog food were found rotting in the yard when investigators raided the couple’s home. The couple’s attorneys could not be reached for comment Tuesday.