Missouri woman accused of trading adopted daughter for monkey
A woman from Missouri allegedly traded her adopted daughter for a monkey.
Citing Missouri prosecutors, NBC News reported that Brenda Ruth Deutsch, 70, was arrested on three felony counts of neglect, child abuse, and child endangerment stemming from initial allegations of a missing child who was later located in Texas.
Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood told NBC News that Deutsch has fostered more than 200 children for about 15 to 20 years, and she allegedly traded one of them for a monkey.
"At least two witnesses have come forward with information regarding the transportation of the monkey back to Missouri after the child was delivered," Wood is quoted as saying. "But we will have to further investigate whether that was actually a trade for the child or if it was something that does not rise to the level of any type of trafficking."
The Associated Press reported that in February, a local school resource officer was contacted about the girl missing classes. The officer was also told of a rumor that the girl was traded for an exotic animal to someone in Texas.
Wood told AP that investigators were trying to firm up if that was just a joke or if it was actually a trade.
Child welfare officials eventually took the teenager into protective custody, and Wood noted she's doing well in a group home.
Wood and Lincoln County Sheriff Rick Harrell also said they found a handful of monkeys at Deutsch's house.
A complaint filed on April 5 alleged that Deutsch struck her adopted daughter in the face between September 2022 and January 2025. The daughter's age is unclear, but court records indicate she's below 17.
According to a probable cause statement, Deutsch allegedly used a paddle, wooden trim, shoes, and an open hand to abuse the teenager. She also gave away the teenager's clothes as a form of punishment and sent the teenager "to live at a house in Texas with unsanitary living conditions and without adequate supervision" from Jan. 1 to April 1.
Deutsch allegedly knew the Texas resident through their shared interest in collecting exotic animals.
She would leave her adopted daughter alone at the resident's home to take care of the exotic animals there.
Wood noted that there's no information suggesting the teenager was abused in Texas.
The Texas resident is under investigation and hasn't been arrested or charged. Wood, however, said that when they first approached the Texas resident, she lied about the teenager's whereabouts.
According to AP, the Texas resident told a detective she was friends with Deutsch, and she took the teenager in to give the pair a break from each other.
Wood said the girl stayed in Texas for over a month.
When authorities interviewed the Texas resident, she said she no longer wanted the girl there, but Deutsch wouldn’t make arrangements to bring her home.
Before Deutsch's arrest, Wood said the children's division of the Missouri Department of Social Services received over 200 hotline calls regarding activity at her home. Yet there were no criminal reports, according to Wood. He noted that the girl stayed there despite the children's division of the Missouri Department of Social Services receiving a tip in November about the alleged abuse.
“On its face, it just seems like there was a systemic failure somewhere," Wood told AP, "and we’re looking into it to see if that is the case, how it can be addressed, and to the extent that there’s any criminal behavior associated with it, we will look into that as well."
Baylee Watts, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Social Services, provided no information about the case.
Watts told AP that “information related to specific child abuse and neglect investigations is closed and confidential under Missouri law, except under very limited circumstances.” She urged people to call the agency's hotline instead.
After prosecutors announced the charges against Deutsch, Wood said other children claiming to have been fostered by Deutsch came forward with similar stories of abuse.
A teenage boy whom Deutsch was fostering when she was arrested was taken into custody by child protective services, according to NBC News.
"This has to be the potential to be an egregious human trafficking case," Wood told NBC News. "Or, at bare minimum, it certainly is a very disheartening and disturbing abuse and neglect case."
Wood said more charges against Deutsch will be announced.
Her bond has been set for $250,000 (P14.2 million).
