Karrikers plead guilty to all counts, sentenced to nearly 20 years

Reed and Georgiana Karriker, both 44, pleaded guilty in Rowan County Superior Court Monday afternoon to charges of attempted first degree murder, intentional child abuse causing serious injury and negligent child abuse resulting in serious injury for the beating and near death of their then adopted son.

On Jan. 21, 2021, Reed brought the child, then 11 years old, to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center. The child was unresponsive and had to be intubated before he was taken by helicopter to Novant Health Presbyterian in Charlotte.

Dr. Louis Daughterty was on the receiving end at Presbyterian hospital when the call came from Rowan.

“How (this child) arrived at the hospital was extremely rare,” he told the court. “We got a call from a frantic emergency room in Rowan saying they had a pediatric patient who was comatose, they had to put in a breathing tube,” and they were sending him to Charlotte. “When he arrived, his heart was beginning to fail.” Daugherty said there was evidence of severe malnourishment, he was unable to breathe on his own, there were ulcers and signs of trauma covering the child’s body, and he was “extremely close to death. I am surprised he survived. In fact, I called his adoptive parents to come back because I thought he was going to die within the first 24 hours.” He said the child’s internal organs had begun to shut down completely, sending him into septic shock. The child was, at 11, the size of a seven-year-old, and he believed had Reed waited even a few hours more, the child would have died.

Retired Salisbury Police Lieutenant Russ DeSantis, one of the investigating officers, told the court, “in 37 years of law enforcement, this was by far some of the worst injuries I have seen on a living child. His survival speaks to his strength.”

The child, whom the Post is not naming because he is still a minor at 14, recorded a victim’s impact statement for the court, and one of the things he wanted to ask his former parents was “why did you target me?”

In interviews with both Reed and Georgiana, police records indicate they both claimed the child was misbehaving. Asked how the child’s health had reached such a drastic level, Reed reportedly said the child was “not a complainer.” He added that the child “just doesn’t listen,” noting he had begged and pleaded with the boy to “just do what you are told.” Both parents said they did not know how the child had reached such a desperate state.

According to the court, the couple installed security cameras throughout the house, including one in the child’s room, and during a search following their initial arrest, police seized 977 videos from the system. Thirty-three were submitted to the court as evidence, and showed the child, often naked, appearing to walk a path back and forth in his room. If he tried to lie down or sit down, off camera, Georgiana could be heard telling him he was off the path and had to get up and walk.

In interviews with social workers at the Terry Hess House, the child said he was beaten frequently, was not fed or given water consistently, and was only allowed one bathroom break a day. He was locked in his room much of the time, and though he initially attended China Grove Elementary School, after COVID hit, he was not allowed to go back to school. He said he suffered abuse at both the China Grove home and later the Salisbury home where the family lived. He said things got worse when they moved to Salisbury when he was 10, and described one incident when his father picked him up and threw him against the wall. He did say his mother tried to stop his father that time.

He said he vaguely remembered that the first time he was beaten was when he stole an M&M cookie and tried to blame the dog. He was beaten, bare-bottomed, with a belt. That punishment was repeated, he said, “all the time,” and in many cases the beatings were so bad he was bleeding. Another punishment involved being sent to the basement to walk on a treadmill, but the child said it was set too fast for him to keep up. He was told not to fall off, but he could not help it, and he said he hit his head repeatedly on the metal framework, noting that is why he has so many scars on his head.

Defense attorneys for the couple pointed out that both of the Karrikers were “good parents for years.” The first eight years of the child’s life, there were no issues. The child was the oldest of four adopted children, and the couple were in the process of trying to adopt two more foster children in their care. Both attorneys pointed out that none of the other children had any signs of abuse, and that the Department of Social Services, which made unannounced visits to the home, never documented any abuse of the victim.

However, in presenting the facts of the case, it was noted that the other children said they were told to sit on the victim, and they said he preferred to be alone because he was older.

In defense of the couple, lawyers noted that Georgiana had letters of support from co-workers describing her care for the children she worked with as a school counselor for 14 years in China Grove, and Reed had been gainfully employed his entire adult life. They described how the couple met in college at Appalachian State University and married at 22. They found out that they could not have children of their own and eventually decided to adopt.

Georgiana told her attorney that she had grown up in a home with both parents and a sister and had everything she needed, but then said her father was always working, so she did not have a close relationship, that her mother was judgmental and her sister was the preferred child. So when things went wrong in her marriage, she felt she had no one to turn to. She added that Reed was controlling, not allowing her access to finances, and was psychologically abuse when they would argue.

She said following COVID, when she went back to work, Reed stayed home, becoming the primary caregiver for the children and homeschooling at least the victim. She told the court she did see some of the abuse, but said she got so invested in helping the students at her school adjust to being back in the classroom that she became disconnected from her home life.

Reed’s lawyer said both defendants should be given credit for being willing to plead guilty and accept responsibility and not force the victim to testify. He also said he believed there were many reasons to believe the state might not be able to prove malice and intent.

“These are people that brought foster children into their home, children who have a myriad of problems, and then adopt them,” he said. “They are not mean, violent people.” They added that the couple had been unable to find a place to live while out on bond because of the charges, and had been living in Reed’s parents’ basement. Georgiana has not been working, while Reed has been employed at Food Lion for the last year and a half.

In addition, both attorneys also argued that the judge should not agree to sentence the two consecutively for two Class B felonies since the same evidence was used for each.

The child’s new parents adopted him when he was released from the hospital in March of 2022, and his mother, Emily Nazarian, told the court that “prior to coming to us, his only goal was to survive. Re-entry into a normal life is a steep climb. Neglect, broken promises and violence were all he knew.” She said for a long time, he acted out because any attention was good, and he struggles to build more than shallow relationships with friends. He still ends up being bullied. He is older than most of his classmates and is strong, but due to numerous head injuries, he struggles with balance and coordination, making him more of a target.

“It is only recently that he has begun to trust us,” she said. “The physical, emotional and mental harm is a lifelong recovery. This is something he will never get over. He needs to know what was done to him was wrong. He deserves justice.”

Both of the Karrikers were sentenced to a total of just under 20 years, with sentences for both class B felonies to run concurrently with a minimum of 157 months to a maximum of 201 months, followed consecutively by 13-25 months for the class G felony.

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