Jarrod Tutko Jr., 8, found dead in home on Green Street in Harrisburg

The room that Jarrod Tutko Jr. was kept in at his home in the 2100 block of Green Street. Criminal charges have been filed against a man regarding the death of Jarrod Tutko Jr. 8 found at a Harrisburg home late Friday night on Green Street. Jarrod Nicholas Tutko, 38, has been charged with endangering the welfare of children, concealing the death of a child and abuse of a corpse. Sean Simmers, PennLive.com. August 02, 2014

The mother of the 9-year-old profoundly handicapped boy who was found dead in his Harrisburg home on Friday says she had no idea why her son died.

Kimberly Tutko says she had not seen her son, Jarrod Tutko Jr., since 2010.

On Sunday, Tutko allowed a PennLive reporter and photographer into her home, three days after her husband, Jarrod Tutko Sr., carried down the body of the child from his third-floor bedroom and told her he was dead. She did not want to be photographed.

Read the full interview with Kimberly Tutko

Jarrod Tutko Sr. is being held in Dauphin County Prison. His bail is set at $500,000. Kimberly Tutko was questioned by police on Friday but released. She has not been charged with any crime.

"I had nothing to do with it," Kimberly Totku said. "I don't understand why he hid it from me. They're saying you didn't ask about your son? I ask every single day every single night. 'Hey did you feed Junior? How's Junior? Oh he's fine and yes I fed him.'"

Police – and reporters – found Jarrod Jr.'s room in deplorable, inhumane conditions, a bare room, save for a filthy small mattress and a TV, covered in feces and urine, and reeking of a pungent, putrid smell. Flies continued to swarm about on Sunday on the third floor.

Kimberly Tutko said she fears media reports paint her in a negative light. Neighbors say they had no idea the Tutkos had six children; few had ever seen Kimberly.

A slight, well-spoken woman of 38, Kimberly Tutko says she is a devoted, selfless mother who has sacrificed her life for 13 years to take care of her children, two of whom are profoundly handicapped.

"I'm not trying to portray myself as the best mother ... but these people don't know the events that led up to this," she said of PennLive readers who have been critical of her.

The Tutkos had six children: The oldest, Deanna, 13, is deaf; Aaron, 12, has developmental issues; Arianna, 10, is profoundly handicapped and in a vegetative state. She has severe brain damage and is confined to a hospital bed. Jarrod Jr., the son who was found dead, had Fragile X, a genetic disorder that left him with intellectual and emotional disabilities. Braelyn, 6, is autistic; and Makayla, 3, by all accounts, a normal child.

Kimberly Tutko said she and her husband took care of their children, and had help from no one. "We were doing this on our own," she said.

She said children welfare service officials had been visiting the family to discuss Aaron, whose developmental disabilities had been growing worse over time.

Kimberly Tutko said they had no extended family. Tutko said she worked years ago while living in Atlantic City, N.J., as a convenience store clerk and as a security guard. She said several of the children receive public assistance.

"We rather take care of children than be out there working," Kimberly Tutko said.

She said she has been married to Jarrod Totku for 14 years. Kimberly said she was responsible for taking care of Arianna; her husband was solely responsible for taking care of Jarrod Jr.

She said a week ago on Saturday she saw her son Jarrod Jr. for the first time in years, but only fleetingly, when her husband carried him downstairs to the living room to watch TV. She said she had last seen him in 2010. "I just see the back of his head," Kimberly said.

On Sunday, she was adamant that she had no idea that her son was dead in his upstairs room. Not until her husband on Friday came down with his body and laid it on the bathroom floor. "What I saw is something no parent should ever see," she said.

Kimberly Tutko called 911. Asked by the dispatcher how long her son had been dead, she said: "I don't know."

"I didn't try to cover this up," she said. "That's not who I am. I love my children to death. Nobody understands."

She says she only wants answers.

"I want answers to why ... why and how," she said. "Those are the main answers. I want to know why this happened and how did this happened. How could the father played it off all week and not give me that suspicion that something was out of the ordinary."

This is a condensed version of PennLive's interview with Kimberly Tutko on Sunday. This story has been updated to correct Jarrod Tutko Jr.'s age