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Christian Influencers' Secret EXPOSED in Shocking Abuse Case: Police

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Christian Influencers' Secret EXPOSED in Shocking Abuse Case: Police

Heather Thompson Day and her husband Seth Day are facing serious criminal charges following allegations of physical and sexual abuse against their 14-year-old daughter. The case began when a high school teacher reported severe facial injuries, which police say were caused by Seth hitting his daughter with a cell phone. Medical evidence, including blood-stained paper towels and KY lubricant found in the home, supports claims of sexual assault. A key allegation is that Heather, who is a known Christian author and speaker, knowingly covered up the abuse—lying to doctors, attempting to keep her daughter from school, and hiding injuries. Investigators found prior CPS reports in Texas from August, which were closed at the state level, raising concerns about a pattern of abuse. Both face felony charges: Seth for injury to a child and sexual assault, and Heather for failing to report abuse. A 91-day emergency protective order restricts contact with their children and requires a mandatory 48-hour hold after bond. Despite their public image as faith-based influencers promoting family and resilience, the allegations reveal a stark contrast to their outward presentation. The case underscores how public figures may mask domestic violence, and how investigative bodies must remain vigilant, especially when previous reports were dismissed. Authorities stress that the evidence points to both physical harm and active complicity by the mother, and that further investigation into prior complaints may uncover additional abuse.

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And for 91 days, you can have any contact with them at all. I want this Christian author, speaker and social media influencer with an outburst of shock during a hearing. I am married to the cutest boy in my sixth grade class. Got him Seth Michael day. This is how most people know Heather Thompson day. But now she's accused of covering for her husband who is facing horrific allegations of sexual and physical abuse. He also pleaded his innocence to the judge. This is a far cry from the power couple they presented themselves as, but we'll lay out what investigators say they found, and what a teacher allegedly saw in class that she could not be silent about that launched this investigation. We're on the case presented by Law and Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. The allegations in this story are sick. I'm going to lay that out of front. You just never know what's going on behind closed doors. We hear that a lot in the stories that we cover. And in this case, police alleged that behind closed doors, a father was physically and sexually abusing his daughter and his wife covered for him. Those are just the allegations. Both parents seemed shocked when they faced a judge. Both of them work in the public eye to an extent as Christian social media influencers and writers and preachers now also lay out the evidence that police say they found in their home. I'm setting your bond at $100,000. Also, also before you exit this before you get out of jail, okay, you're going to have to go before the district court prior to release, right? That was Heather Day. When she faced a magistrate judge, reportedly on September 24th, we'll play more from Heather and her husband's court appearances in just a moment. They were posted online by Spectrum Magazine on their YouTube account. Heather was arrested for allegedly not reporting the abuse of her own daughter. Police say at the hands of her husband, Seth Day. It's a very, very horrible offense that you charge with and understand that the consequences are very far-reaching. Now the couple that you see here in jail jumpsuits is a far, far cry from who we see on social media. Confessing your own sin. That was one of the last nights. Yeah. Well, he did. It was a progressive thing, but he really touched on that on the last part of the last night. And it was super, super powerful. It was. But something that he said was, and I did it this morning after reading this story because there's just like, wow, like, we can be so blind to our own pride that I'm sitting. That's video that's on Seth Day's Instagram where he and Heather talk about their marriage. The couple lives in the Dallas area, and they have three kids according to police. They work as authors, preachers, professors, and influencers focused on their faith. Seth worked as a professor at Southwestern Adventist University in Keen, Texas, which is a rural town south of Dallas. The days are members of the Christian Denomination 7th Day Adventist Church. The family recently moved to Dallas from Midland, Texas. That's where Seth used to work. I will get into what Heather and Seth are accused of here in just a moment, but I want to talk more about who they are because Heather Day is very important to this story whose Seth's wife. She goes by Heather Thompson Day on the speaking circuit, and she travels as an author and a speaker. Her website says that Heather believes that she is on the surf to help one person. By one more time to take one more step for one more day. As a writer, she's been a contributor for major outlets like Newsweek, and she's also been interviewed by the BBC in the Wall Street Journal. The days also have co-authored books together. This one's called I'll see you tomorrow building relational resilience when you want to quit. And it's description reads in a culture where people easily and hastily cancel relationships rather than cultivate them, discover what the Bible has to say about how we need to keep showing up for one another even when we feel like walking away. I know I don't have a lot of time here. Oh, I mean, I can listen to you, sir, but it's not a whole lot I can do to change anything. Can you tell me what happened with my wife? Sir, she was charged with the same offense you are and given the same bond amount. You can see that Seth asked about Heather after he appeared in court before this Johnson County Texas magistrate judge after his arrest. Heather and Seth apparently grew up together to an extent. He once wrote on Instagram that Heather was the first girl he ever cried over. And she wrote in her diary about him when she was just 11. He then moved away. They didn't see each other for a decade and then they reconnected. He said that sometimes we aren't wrong about the event we are too early in our timing. Now according to police, the days have a 14 year old daughter and two juvenile sons. Now this couple, as you can see, they appear to be accomplished. They appear to be caring. They appear to be family people, but the allegations they face are shattering that perception. And I'm going to warn you that these are some very difficult details and viewer discretion is advised. We have the arrest warrants for Heather and Seth King. And it was on September 24th, policing King Texas say that the local high school teacher noticed that one of their students had injuries. Injuries allegedly so severe that the teacher needed to call the authorities. The student police say is the daughter of the days and is just 14 years old. Court documents say that the victim allegedly told police that Seth day, the dad who was abusing her, police say that they saw the injuries for themselves on this girl's face. And to them, the injuries were fresh and they were consistent with someone who had been assaulted. Now the victim says that two days before she went to school, Seth day allegedly hit her in the face with a cell phone. Court records state that the entire family was home and this allegedly took place. Her mom, Heather day and her two brothers who were Myers. She had lacerations and bruises on her face according to police and the injuries were so bad that she needed paper towels to clean up the blood. Now while being examined at the hospital, this victim allegedly made an outcry and told staff that not only did Seth day allegedly hit her with that cell phone and had been abusive physically to her in the past. She alleged that Seth day sexually assaulted her in her bed. Her record state that this 14 year old girl was very timid about the details that she gave hospital staff. She described to this quote, "yucky," and she described alleged sexual intercourse. Before we get back to the evidence that police say they have, we do need to talk about the alleged role that Heather Thompson Day is accused of in this case, this accomplished writer. Her legal name, according to court records, is Heather Marie Day. The victim said that her mom was allegedly aware of the multiple times that she had been hurt, but she never reported it to authorities. Heather allegedly took her daughter to the doctor, but would say that she's not aware of how this girl sustained her injuries, even when she had some on her face. In connection to the alleged incident where the girl was hit with a cell phone, quote, "JV 1's mother Heather Day was made aware of the ongoing abuse and failed to act to prevent further acts of violence. Both defendant and Heather Day were arrested on or about September 24, 2026, by the KPD. Subsequent to their arrest, I learned via collective knowledge that Heather Day stated the paper towels with blood still existed in the bathroom, located in the residence, and she documented the injuries via her telephone closer to the time of the alleged assault on September 22, 2026. This alleged that Heather is accused of also buying her daughter a mask to cover her face up. She allegedly tried to tell the girl not to go to school because the injuries were that bad. On top of that, the victim said that she had been told that she had hereditary angiodemo, which is a medical condition that can cause swelling in different parts of the body. Police say they looked up that condition and it can cause swelling, but it doesn't cause bruising or lacerations like what they saw on the girl's face and chest. Now here's what police found when they searched the day's home. Police say they found blood-stained paper towels in the victim's bathroom trash, which lines up with the allegation that she was hit so hard with a cell phone she needed to clean it up with paper towels. And this is where this story gets even more disturbing because police say they found KY gel lubricant that the victim alleges was used during the sexual assault. And police say they also then took a black light and scanned the victim's room. But on the wall immediately parallel with the bed where handprints consistent with that of a 14 year old child, evenly spaced apart that were once pressed against the wall. Based on this observation, the location of the KY jelly lubricant and victim statements, it is reasonable to infer that the handprints are from JV one bracing herself while defendant sexually assaulted her. Additionally, investigators were unable to reasonably conclude that the handprints are from any normal or regular activity of a 14 year old child. It is hard to read that. Heather Day, we want to be clear, is not alleged to have known about any sexual abuse happening in the home. She's not facing a charge for that at this point. Now, perhaps even more shocking is that the days for as public as they were about really doing the right things in life. They were already known to child protective services. CPS investigated an incident on August 8th of this year, and police say that there were other reports made that were closed at the state level. The victim said the first incident happened when the couple was living in Midland, Texas, back in August, and they had to move because of a CPS report. Seth Day is facing two charges right now. One is injury to a child, that's a third degree felony, and then he's also facing a first degree felony, sexual assault to a child. As for Heather Day, she's facing a charge of injury to a child by a mission, which is a third degree felony. Miss Day, all right, ma'am, your charge of injury to a child by a mission, OK? That means if something was going on, or should have known something was going on inside the house, all right? On the day of their arrests, both Heather and Seth face this magistrate judge. And here's what happened when Heather appeared by videopheed. I'm setting your bond at $100,000, OK? Also, before you exit this, before you get out of jail, OK, you're going to have to go before the district court prior to release, all right? In addition to that, I also have an emergency protective order for you as well, all right? You like to abide by all the terms of that? All bond conditions that are attached to this as well, all right? Sir, did they read the CPS report? Because CPS told me yesterday that she knew that this is not true and that she was very shocked by what's happened to me. All right, ma'am, I know there's two sides or three sides or five sides to every story, but I can only tell you the information that I have. And my other children, like, this is not true. So, I'm going to say something, OK? So you can't really argue with him. He's just here to tell you where your charge was and tell you where your bond is, OK? I have a persona. I'm trying to get a case of my husband's if we need to go to court, you have to argue it, OK? OK, he's just telling you what's going on now, OK? Ma'am. Ma'am, like she said, OK? I know that there's multiple sides of the story on all this, all right? But for right now, this is what it is. And you're going to need to talk to your lawyer. Can you hear me? Can you hear me? All right, listen to me. OK, try to focus a little bit, all right? You can cry in a sec, all you want. But when I need you to go and listen to me, all right? You can go ahead and speak with your lawyer on this and everything that's going on. And y'all will work through this one step at a time, all right? And the chips are going to fall while they're going to fall. I'm not saying you're guilty of anything, ma'am. Just let you know what you're charged with and what your bond is. And let you know that there's an emergency protective order that's taking that guy out against you and your three children. They want? Yes, emergency protective order. So you cannot contact your kids. Go ahead and get your kids or anything for 91 days. You're going to need a copy of all paperwork. So make sure you read over it whenever I hand this to you after we're done signing, OK? Did my lawyer call already? I don't know. OK, so you already have a lawyer? Right? Yes. So in the show right here. And then you can call that at my mom to see who she got there. Yeah, after we're done with this process, you'll be able to make a phone call. So in the show right here, saying you don't need a quarter for an attorney because you already have your own. See the sign right here? You're going to hang all the defendants. You still have a step to sign. Just look at that. It's a people. I can't help you. Oh. Thank you. Go back up here. Miss Jane, you still got a step to sign, OK? I miss that. There's a lot of paperwork, OK? I have that. So which documentation for my daughter? I cannot believe this is happening. OK. I need to pay attention because I'm going to go over this with-- I'm trying. I'm sorry. My world's upset. I need to understand. I need to make sure that you-- I know. But I'm not the telly, OK? OK. Here's the emergency protective order. Yes. You make it. So you cannot-- No, I'm friend. I know. Let me go to the first. You cannot commit any other further acts. Family violence? You can't. You cannot communicate with a period. Unless it's during an attorney. OK. You cannot go to 167 yards of this address right here. Thank you. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Is this something that the lawyer can overturn? Like, or is this for 90 days? Right now, it's effective for 91 days. This is something the lawyer can think. In a process, you'd be able to talk to either whoever it is that did all this. OK. So we have to get through this first. We have to sign the paperwork. Right. Sorry. OK, back up. New assistants. OK. Ma'am, this is an emergency protective order. All right. And if there's some kind of modification this to be had, your attorney can file it. Your attorney should know how to file it. He can file it in my court. And then prosecutors will have their opportunity to come in and then present their evidence as a why that EPO needs to stay into effect or why she'd be changed. OK. All right. So there is a process for making changes to it. OK. My children. Ma'am. Do you know who had my children? Yes, I do know who has your children. And I can't tell you it is because it's confidential. But you're going to get a copy of all that paperwork. And there's answers to a lot of the questions that you're having right now in that paperwork. So I'm just going to need you to, yeah, there you go. Take a breath and read over that paperwork so that you understand it all right. It's a very serious charge against you and your husband, OK? It's not. These are, I'm not saying they are, they aren't. I'm saying that the charges were filed and they're very serious allegations. Oh my God. She doesn't understand what you're doing. Ready? So you cannot go to this address listed here? You cannot go anywhere there. You cannot go here. I don't know where else. You and your spouse are going to have to go somewhere else. OK, in this day, do we have to stay in Texas? Can I go home? It was my plan. Ma'am, while these charges are pending, right now you're going to have to see the district judge before you leave. And I am just about 100% certain that you are not going to be allowed to leave Texas, OK? In fact, your bond is set, sets that the courts afraid that you may want to leave the state, OK? Yeah. Making you a flight risk. So that's a big no-no. You can't go within 167 yards either of -- Or the hot school. Do this to people. Unbelievable. And do to your EPO. The CPO card. I cannot leave you to this to people. Do your charges and the EPO, you have to get an income monitor as well. And like the judge said, you have to go before the court can even get released. You're going to have to have a monitor. OK. I'm going to sign right here, stating you understand everything I just told you, but you're actually protected boarder. Now you have conditions of bond, OK? Do to your charge and do to the emergency protected boarder. You have a mandatory cooldown period of 48 hours. So once you do post bond, you have to stay an additional 48 hours before you get released. Can you? Yes, ma'am. It's a lot of thing, ma'am. It's a state mandated -- it's a mandatory cooldown period. Warrior, can you talk? This is state mandated. Wherever you post bond, you have to get released, you have to stay an additional 48 hours, mandatory cooldown period. OK. So you're going to sign right here, stating you understand what I just told you. Look, if this is some big misunderstanding, you can understand why someone could have that type of emotional reaction, especially if they have never had a criminal record in front of this judge. But the court is going forward with what police are alleging, and we just laid out some of the evidence that police say they have. At the end of Heather's hearing, she does say something that might give us a glimpse into what her defense may be. My daughter has a mental health issue. Can you just stand still, stand up on the counter, and still accept the sign? We don't know how those issues could explain what police are alleging. Here's what happened when Seth Day faced that same judge. And you got a lot of life ahead of you, all right? So I understand, like I said, you know, I'm not saying you're guilty, anything. Oh, this isn't looking -- I know I don't have a lot of time here. Oh, I mean, I can listen to you, sir, but there's not a whole lot I can do to change anything. I understand. Sir, she was charged with the same offense you were. Thank God. And given the same bond amount. And they know what, like, the health stuff that's going on. I understand. I don't know what's going on. I know it's not going to change anything. I'm just telling you I did that. Yeah, I'm just the judge that has to set your bond. Okay. You got a long road ahead of you with the court system? It's not looking good. Oh, no. It's a very, very horrible offense that you're charged with. And I understand that the consequences are very far-reaching. What did -- what happened if I am charged with this? Like, what are -- Well, you need to get a lawyer if you don't have one. I think we have one that was supposed to be flying in today. Okay. So get your lawyer, and y'all get to work on this. That's -- that's what you do, okay? That's your -- I mean, how long they're going to put me in prison? I'm not saying you're guilty of anything, sir. That's way down the road, okay? I'm supposed to do a room. You already have a lawyer go ahead and initial right there? You don't need to -- you'll need to read the terms of that APL. You're going to get a copy of all those pages, okay? And you'll have to abide by those. Or you'll be in violation of that, and you'll be right back here in jail. Okay. I need to read what you are at this point. I mean, you -- I mean, when you get out of here, when you go -- when you leave this room, you'll have copies of all that. You'll have plenty of time to read it all over. Copiously, line by line. So, I mean, I'm not getting out of here. And I know I have 100,000 dollars. Okay, so go ahead and initial right there. The court then goes over the protectors. objective order that Seth Day would have to abide by if he were a bond out. "I love to talk to my wife at home." "Yes or actually, y'all are allowed to talk to each other. You just can't go back by the house and you can't be around the kids." "You have to place a request to the captain to ask if he can." "It's a jail policy. I don't know anything about that sort." "So this is your condition as a bond, okay? Like he said, once you do post bond and you get your income order before you release, you will be held in the digital 48 hours before you can go anywhere, okay? So there's also a bunch of different prohibits right here, which are the same ones that are in the EPO as well. So it's a double copy of everything." "Our kids, I mean when I call a parent, we have our sister who flew in and my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, we're at the house with them. We don't have family here, so we're probably just going to take them back to a mission again." "No, I think it's excellent. Got you." "As I understand it, and I don't know other than what I've been told, so you're talking about 4th, 15th information, all right, hadn't leased. And so don't cite me as a source, okay? From what I understand, the kids have been at ccps and they've been given to someone else right now. "I don't know if it's a family member or if it's just an independent person." "Okay, so you know better than I do them." "Yeah, I gave the name of my boss because we've been nobody but here as I own my brother-in-law. So I'm saying are they allowed to take them to make sure you get more the majority of our family in?" "While these court proceedings are pending, sir, I don't have the right to say yes or no on that. I can't answer that question because I don't know." "Okay, so you're going to sign right here stating you understand you're going to be held in additional 40 hours once your bond is coasted. You can get your vehicle on or they're on." The next day, Seth appeared before the judge again and this was after the additional sexual assault charge was added. "There an additional charge has been added on here for sexual assault out of a child. Okay, $250,000 is the bond on that, and I have conditions to bond on for you as well related to the sexual offense. For the nature of the officer." "We'll go ahead and the initial right here." In the wake of his arrest, Seth Day's Place of Employment, South Western Adventist University, said that he has been placed on administrative leave. I spoke with retired NYPD Detective David Sarny before the days appeared in court about the allegations and the investigation. I want to talk more about this case as retired NYPD Detective David Sarny. I was good to see you. Thanks for doing this. You look at this case and I just think of this teacher and you see one of your students allegedly with injuries that like these were not little injuries that this student had and then it opens up this investigation into the days. What do you make of just how kind of the way things got to the point where they were arrested? Well, the thing about this is the outcry. A lot of states have mandated reporters. And I'm going to presume this teacher is a mandated reporter when the teachers saw the injuries. They've reached out to child service immediately. New York City, we have what's called the instant response to the IRT team, which will then send out a notification to the DA's office, the DA's office sends to us. We then will send our people out and the detectives will go out with the team. Someone from Child Welfare would go ACS in New York. Along with any legal thing, they would go what's called the Child Advocacy Center. And that's what they did here. They took the victim there, they interviewed the victim, they saw the physical injuries, they made note of those injuries. And during that interview, you're hearing more than just a one-time thing. And that's what you're looking at. There's no longer this one-time incident. It was a continuous incident. And then the application of the wife being involved. We sadly see this all the time. We unfortunately, you know, even the other allegations that are like, we have people who put themselves upon a pedestal. And behind the scenes, their secondary life does not seem to match up with what they're stating that they are. And apparently, just according to the arrest warrants that we have, Seth Day is accused of hitting his daughter with a cell phone to the point that it caused lacerations and bruising. And then it's sad when you think of the other times that, you know, the victim has said that this has allegedly happened. When you look at, it's Heather Thompson Day is her name, and that's the, that is the wife of Seth M. Day. She is accused of being complicit. Like she's accused of taking her daughter to the doctor and saying, I have no idea how my child got these injuries on her face. And then there's even an anecdote in the arrest warrant where, you know, she tried to get the student to either not go to school or to wear a mask to cover the scars and the bruising on her face. How does the law view someone who maybe she didn't do the abuse, physically, but she's the one who's accused of kind of being complicit with it. How does the law view that? Well, she's acting in concert in a sense because she was aware of the injury. She was aware of the abuse and she did nothing. Now we had case, Lisa Steinberg case many years ago, where the wife, well, the partner of Joel Steinberg was beaten. How did us bound was beaten severely and Lisa Steinberg was also beaten to when she died. She is complicit with the fact that she withheld evidence. She was telling her daughter, don't say anything, which means one of two things. She's complicit the fact that it was an after the fact or she was there when his incidents happen. And to hit some of the cell phone and create such an injury that you, you have blood on the cell phone and you get it cleaned off. You know, it's a felony in New York to hit an inviting Chris to stay in an injury. This is an injury. You know, this isn't like a mistake. You struck or hard enough to create an injury that drew blood. And then you have the, the wife involved by saying, well, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. And then trying to hide it. You know, we've seen, you know, people who've been psychologically damaged, we've seen issues with, you know, husband's wives and the control pattern that the husband may have of the wife, but it seems more not just a pattern of that. We see that they had a higher standing up, an upstanding record. They were on podcasts. They had decent jobs wrote a book, but what they did is criminal. And, you know, there's no excuse for it. There's none because if you are allowing it to happen, you're part of that problem. I wonder too, like looking at just the court documents we have and the allegation that the mother would tell a doctor that she doesn't know where these injuries came from. Like when you're investigating a case like this, I mean, how do you go back and find, find that doctor because part of me wonders is like a lot of doctors would be able to notice if this was a fall from playing outside. Or it would be something far more serious than that. And it does seem like, you know, at least from, you know, the, what the teacher saw that this was not something that was minor. Well, a lot of times what the doctors would do is find a way to separate from a social worker involved and separate the juvenile from the parent to find out what really happened. I don't know what that doctor was doing. You know, a lot of times they just take what the parents say, but if they see an injury that is unusual, that is out of the ordinary, but there was no explanation to the injury and then they tried to push you off his sort of disease that she had. And, you know, that's the whole thing about investigators and detectives. We look for the truth. A lot of times, doctors are going to just deal with the injury. And I presume you're mandated reported given the fact that you have this person has a state of injury, but you're not getting the answer from the mom. But that's where you have to sort of get the social worker involved, get the hospital involved to find out what really happened. I've seen that happen where they've separated the parent or separated a person from the other who broke into the hospital to find out really happened. I'm sure this is what happened. That may not have occurred, but here's the issue also. They have a several complaints of abuse. That's the other aspect is what happened. Why would they not, were they not deemed criminal, were they closed because they were closed for whatever reason. We won't know until you'll see that. I know it happened that you had one in Michigan that had they pretty much run it seems to have run away from every time there's an allegation that they've run from that location so they don't follow doesn't follow them. But the one good thing is the teacher did what was necessary made the report. We have these people arrested there. I don't bond, but there's going to be more and we're going to see more from this these two because we know it's not a one time thing. Well, and so there is according to the arrest warrant, there was a case out of Midland, Texas where they used to live and then there were like other cases they say were closed at the state level. Like what does that mean? Well, there's a pattern that there is a pattern what you're going to do and as far as the prosecutors probably going to do is look into those cases. The state will look at those cases because we've had situations and instances where there's been a systemic abuse. Unfortunately, in this case, there was no death, but sometimes when it comes to a death of a child or a juvenile, they'll look at the back of all any cases that children services here, ACS would have had and what was the reason for that closing. And in New York, a supervisor has to sign off on those closing. It doesn't just happen where the case worker sees it just closes it out. What was the reason these were closed? Was there not lack of evidence where they ever forwarded to the police department or the police agencies to look into the criminal aspect of this. So that's the other thing. Allegations of one thing, but how far were they investigated by child services to deem them non criminal or actually unfounded or substantiated? I wonder what some of those cases where, you know, you look at the. this couple and at least doing the drive-by of just their social media and kind of seeing some of the things that they say and what they stand for and they were clearly very much, they are clearly very much into their faith and into kind of being these beacons for other people to look at even when it comes to like being, you know, married and relationship advice just from what I was able to see and I'm sure if you're someone who works for DCS like you go into a home and if they ever investigated that house, I assume it would probably be nicer than a lot of the other situations that they might run into on like an everyday basis like and I'm not saying that there's ever, you know, bias but it's also kind of human nature where you walk in and you might say like hey, things look good here compared to, you know, the other places that you're seeing every single day like have you seen that like have an impact on some of these cases and how someone because you just wonder like how are there to be so many cases and yet here we are once again. So you have to go into the investigation and what the complaint is, when the complaint is made, you have to walk in with an open mind. So unfortunately, we do have a total confirmation biases and biases that investigation will have, if they see a resident, it doesn't seem to be out of the ordinary, you do, maybe you do a background check on these individuals, you see them of a higher standing in a sense in this in society that they, they're very religious, they've got written an author and you don't see that. But Joel's thought and I go back to the Joel's thought at least a Steinberg case, Joel's thought was an attorney. So you really have to look at these people because there's a dark side to everybody, there's a jekyll and hide to this. And that's what you think here is what it is. Take the investigation, take the complaint seriously, do not get biased by the, by statements made until you were able to refute or confirm those statements. And that's the whole thing. Or was there an interview of the juvenile prior to, or during these investigations, or did they just take the parents with the parents answer and say, yeah, well, that might be just a kid saying something, you know, did they, you know, apparently they were claiming disease. So did they actually do a check to see if this disease was done? The investigators did because it became criminal. And I'm not going to blame anything about a children's services, they are inundated. The thing is, and I said this before and I'll always say this, you need a license to drive, that anybody could be a parent. And we're seeing based on the allegation and the arrest that there was two sides of this partnership where they dealt with their kid in such a way that police got involved, that they had to arrest them for the felony assault that was taken to place. And obviously there is more to it. And that's why you're going to see these cases reopen to see if there's any more, any more criminal activity that could be followed up with. When you have, because there was this allegation that they were in Michigan, you know, if there was a DCS case in Michigan and Texas, like how often do things fall between the cracks if someone moves from one state to another? Well, that's the issue, and we see this sometimes, unfortunately, is like, it doesn't travel. You know, when you get, when you get vetted to work, you think they're going to do some sort of background check. They're going to do a real background check. They check your fingerprints, they'll look at your social, his social media history. And does that affect the, affect the person looking at them? Well, they couldn't do anything wrong. This could be the allegation doesn't somewhere documented, but does it follow up? Whether any domestic incident reports made, New York will have a domestic incident report made. That will be within the purview of investigators to review to see if there's any DIRs in the sense where there are allegations. But if it doesn't reach to crimes of it, we don't see it. So how, you know, this is why I don't think they wanted to share information talk about, but you should at least know that they were problematic, that they were an issue. And that's the problem. We don't see the issue because they're not letting it out right now. That will do it for on the case presented by Law and Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. We'll see you next time.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Heather Thompson Day and her husband Seth Day are facing serious allegations of child abuse, including physical and sexual assault of their 14-year-old daughter.
  2. A high school teacher reported severe facial injuries on the girl, prompting police investigation, with injuries consistent with a cell phone hit and signs of sexual assault.
  3. Police found blood-stained paper towels and KY lubricant in the home, along with handprints on the wall matching the daughter’s age, suggesting physical abuse during a sexual incident.
  4. Heather Day is accused of knowingly covering up the abuse by lying to a doctor, refusing to report injuries, and attempting to keep the daughter from attending school or wearing a mask.
  5. The couple previously faced a child protective services investigation in Texas in August, with allegations closed at the state level, raising concerns about a pattern of abuse.
  6. Both are charged with felonies
  7. A 91-day emergency protective order prohibits contact with the children and requires a mandatory 48-hour cooldown period before release.
  8. Despite their public image as devout Christian influencers and authors, investigators say their behavior contradicts their public persona, highlighting a discrepancy between appearance and reality.

Summary:

Heather Thompson Day and her husband Seth Day are facing serious criminal charges following allegations of physical and sexual abuse against their 14-year-old daughter. The case began when a high school teacher reported severe facial injuries, which police say were caused by Seth hitting his daughter with a cell phone. Medical evidence, including blood-stained paper towels and KY lubricant found in the home, supports claims of sexual assault.

A key allegation is that Heather, who is a known Christian author and speaker, knowingly covered up the abuse—lying to doctors, attempting to keep her daughter from school, and hiding injuries. Investigators found prior CPS reports in Texas from August, which were closed at the state level, raising concerns about a pattern of abuse. Both face felony charges: Seth for injury to a child and sexual assault, and Heather for failing to report abuse.

A 91-day emergency protective order restricts contact with their children and requires a mandatory 48-hour hold after bond. Despite their public image as faith-based influencers promoting family and resilience, the allegations reveal a stark contrast to their outward presentation. The case underscores how public figures may mask domestic violence, and how investigative bodies must remain vigilant, especially when previous reports were dismissed.

Authorities stress that the evidence points to both physical harm and active complicity by the mother, and that further investigation into prior complaints may uncover additional abuse.

FAQs

Heather Day is accused of failing to report child abuse and covering up her daughter's injuries, while Seth Day is charged with physical and sexual assault of his 14-year-old daughter.

A high school teacher noticed severe injuries on a student, who is the daughter of Seth and Heather Day, and reported it to child protective services, leading to an investigation and eventual arrests.

The victim had lacerations and bruises on her face, including those from being hit with a cell phone, and the injuries were described as fresh and consistent with physical abuse.

No, Heather Day is not charged with sexual abuse. She is accused of failing to report abuse and attempting to hide her daughter's injuries by suggesting she had a medical condition.

Police found blood-stained paper towels in the bathroom and KY jelly lubricant in the victim's room, along with handprints on the wall that match the victim's age and are consistent with sexual assault.

The emergency protective order prohibits Heather and Seth from contacting their children, approaching the home, or having any contact with their family for 91 days, and requires them to appear in court before release.

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