Each is being held in the county jail in lieu of $1 million bail, jail records showed Tuesday.
AL.com reported that the Helena Police Department responded to a call from the Department of Human Resources, which had been called in by the hospital after the boy's arrival. When he was brought in to the emergency room, he weighed just 55 pounds -- less than half of what a child his age should weigh.
His parents allegedly denied him food, water and medical care and locked him away in the basement for long periods of time as punishment, AL.com said.
"It's the worst case of neglect that I have ever seen," Helena Police Chief Pete Folmar told the newspaper.
Another child adopted by the couple, now grown, lived in the home as well, but was not malnourished like the younger boy, police said.
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