A young boy faced severe neglect and nearly lost his life before being found emaciated in his home.
At the time, Jordan lived with his dad, Brad Bleimeyer, his step-mother, Tammi, and seven step-siblings.
An odd one out as the only child from Bleimeyer’s other relationship, he was treated extremely poorly by his parents.
While all his step-siblings were treated well, Jordan lived in a tiny closet beneath the stairs and was repeatedly starved, hit, and abused.
The small cupboard that Jordan had to call home was completely unsafe for living. Bare nails and wires sticking out of every corner, and it was extremely cramped.
Thankfully, there was someone looking out for him – Cody, one of Jordan’s step-siblings. The 16-year-old was extremely concerned about his young brother.
Cody spoke to teachers, but they didn’t know how to help.
He spoke to police, and they took trips to the house again and again but ultimately told him that there wasn’t anything they could do.
Even when at his door, the police couldn’t come in because Cody didn’t own the house and was underage.
Cody and one of his sisters, Allison, worked hard to try and talk to their parents about Jordan.
But this enraged their mother and father, who would punish them physically and berate them verbally while tossing threats around.
Then, one day, after a big fight Cody had with Bleimeyer, his parents both went outside. Knowing the fight already landed him in trouble, Cody made a brave decision.
He hadn’t seen Jordan in about a week at this point. So, he hurried to Jordan’s closet and wrenched open the door – and what he saw absolutely shocked and horrified him.
Jordan was naked except for a diaper, and he was covered in marks and bruises. He was foaming at the mouth and his face appeared caved in.
He was mere skin and bones, completely pale, and smelled awful. Cody stared in horror for a few seconds then launched into action, knowing Jordan may not survive very long.
He passed Jordan to Allison and rushed outside to confront his parents.
Allison, then 14, notes that Jordan was so light that he felt like he wasn’t even there. He was also terrified as she did her best to comfort him.
Meanwhile, Bleimeyer and his wife were furiously yelling at Cody, shoving him around and telling him that it wasn’t his business to open the closet.
Cody tried to attract attention, and when that failed, he used a prepaid phone – thankfully one he still had even though his mom had confiscated his normal one – and rang the police.
As he did so, Tammi was packing up and getting all the kids ready to leave. Luckily, this time, there was something that the police could do.
Jordan finally received justice in December 2018. Bleimeyer received a 15-year prison sentence and Tammi received one for 28 years.
The rest of the children wound up in foster care, and Jordan now lives happily and healthily with his biological mother.