Brittany Hull, 31, of Wausau. Dec. 7, 2023: Chronic neglect of a child; child abuse-intentionally cause great bodily harm

By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review

Brittany and Tristan Hull

A Wausau woman accused of starving and neglecting her 15-year-old stepdaughter who weighed just 58 pounds when admitted to the hospital has been ordered to stand trial on felony child abuse charges, court records show.

Brittany Hull has been jailed since early November as the investigation into her stepdaughter’s near-fatal condition progressed. The child’s father, Tristan Hull, is also facing the same charges: chronic neglect of a child where the consequence is bodily harm, and intentional physical abuse of a child. Both defendants are being held on a $1 million cash bond each.

As Wausau Pilot & Review previously reported, the investigation launched in October when paramedics were called to the couple’s Rib Mountain home. Police say Tristan Hull called 911 to report that his daughter was unresponsive, and EMS workers performed CPR on the girl for nearly a half hour before she was admitted to a hospital. The girl, whose name Wausau Pilot is not disclosing, was flown by medical helicopter to Marshfield.

The girl weighed just 58 pounds, less than two-thirds of the lowest weight in the average curve for her age, according to court documents. Hospital staff found that the girl’s organs began to fail because of severe dehydration and she went into bone marrow failure due to malnutrition.

As the girl began to recover, she allegedly told investigators that she is home schooled and that her stepmother did not allow her to eat breakfast with her siblings or eat snacks. The girl was allegedly told by her parents that she had ADHD and an undiagnosed medical condition that made it difficult for her to gain weight. Because of this, court records state, the girl was told that her stepmother put her on a “special diet” that she “researched herself.” Doctors at the hospital did not find any such medical condition, court records show.

The girl allegedly said that when she ate her meals, she would be seated in the living room and was not allowed to eat with her family, and that her water intake was limited to 16 ounces a day. At times, the girl said, she was so weak that she had to be spoon fed, when allowed to eat.

Videos taken from a security camera placed in the girl’s room showed books taped to a mattress in a way that forced the girl to sleep in a specific position, without blankets or bedding, court documents state. Videos also showed the girl was forced to stand with her hands up for hours, visibly shaking and crying.

Some images showed both Tristan and Brittany entering the bedroom and forcing the girl to raise her hands higher even though she was visibly crying and shaking, officials said.

The other children in the home did not show signs of malnutrition, investigators said. Since being admitted to the hospital, the girl began to gain weight and her condition started to improve, court records show.

During a hearing last week in Marathon County Circuit Court, Brittany Hull waived her right to a preliminary examination. Judge LaMont Jacobson found probable cause to move forward and bound her over for trial.

Tristan Hull waived his right to a preliminary hearing in March.

Both Tristan and Brittany Hull are set for pretrial conferences in June.

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.