A Florida children’s author known for her stories about friendship has been charged with murder along with her husband abuse and neglect The children they adopted, authorities said.

Jennifer Wolfthal, author of “Real Friends,” and her husband, Lockheed Martin engineer Joseph Wolfthal, according to the plea agreement obtained (Joseph Wolfthal) pleaded guilty on January 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. Reported by Fox News Digital.

According to the plea agreement, Jennifer Wolfthal will be sentenced to 12 years in prison and her husband will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

“This plea and sentencing agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend a significant amount of time in prison while protecting the already traumatized victim from the stress of having to testify,” a spokesman for the agency said. state attorney’s office Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit said in a statement to Fox Digital News. “The State Attorney’s Office ensured that law enforcement and the children’s new guardians supported the sentence before agreeing.”

Children’s book author and husband accused of abusing their children

Joseph Wolfthal and Jennifer Wolfthal pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)

The investigation into the couple was launched in 2021 when their 8-year-old adopted daughter was taken to hospital unconscious with organ failure. Covered in wounds. The couple also adopted two other children – ages 9 and 11.

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“Given (the girl’s) height and weight, it is unlikely that the swelling and bruising on the back of her head, lacerations to her lip and broken teeth were caused by a loss of balance and a fall,” the police report said.

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Investigators visited the girl while she was in the hospital family home It said they found two other children with “symptoms of malnutrition, bruising and lack of care”.

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Police said the door handle to the child’s bedroom was installed backwards and locked from the outside.

During a further search of the home, authorities found more than 1,100 written paragraphs that read: “My body was always flat on the bed. I was never allowed to move or say anything. Now I can put this and other Write things down together” “I’m a fool.

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Jennifer Wolfthal, author of a children’s book called “Real Friends,” will be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Her husband faces 10 years in prison. (Amazon.com)

The book is still for sale on Amazon, but reviewers have been adding links to news articles about the allegations against the author in their comments.

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The authorities also shared The three adopted children of the Wolfthal family all had other horrific stories of abuse. After the investigation, the children were moved to live with another family.

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Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.