Waitress “saves abused boy” after spotting heartbreaking detail
A waitress has rescued an 11-year-old boy from being tied up and tortured by his parents with a secret note.
Flaviane Carvalho revealed she was working at US restaurant, Mrs Potato in Orlando on New Year’s Day when she noticed a young boy sitting silently, not eating his dinner, while his parents ate their food.
Concerned there was something wrong with the child’s dinner, she went over to the family to ask if everything was OK.
His mum Kristen Swann, 31, and Timothy Wilson, 34 the boy’s stepfather, informed the waitress that he would be eating dinner at home instead.
It was then that she saw bruises and a large scratch on the small child’s face.
“I could see a big scratch between his eyebrows. Couple of minutes later, I saw a bruise on the side of his eye,” Flaviane told Fox News.
“So I felt there was something really wrong.”
The waitress panicked and scribbled on a note: “Do you need help? OK” and held it up for him to read while she stood behind his mum and stepfather.
The boy nodded and quickly she left the table to call police, who stormed the restaurant moments later.
In a tragic tale of events, the horrific torture the boy had been subjected to was exposed.
Police discovered he had been tied up, starved and beaten by the sadistic pair.
An Orlando PD spokesman said: “He said ratchet straps were tied around his ankles and neck, and he was hung upside down from a door.
“He said he was hit with a wooden broom, and handcuffed and tied to a large moving dolly.
“He also said he didn’t get to eat on a regular basis as punishment.”
Wilson has been charged with child abuse and Swann with neglect, with claims that she knew about her partner’s evil doings, but failed to intervene and get medical care for him.
The boy and his four-year-old sister were taken from the house by child services.
“I’m a mother also and that was very strange to me because you don’t deny food to a kid, especially at a restaurant,” Carvalho said at a press conference Thursday.
“Thank God the boy is safe now.”
Orlando Police said Flaviane saved the little boy’s life.
“By saying something when she saw something, Ms Carvalho displayed courage and care for a child she had never even met before, and we’re proud someone like Ms Carvalho lives and works in our community,” he said.