As a Murrieta man and his girlfriend each pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of child abuse and willful child cruelty to the man’s 5-year-old son, court documents reveal the conditions that led police to believe the boy was being abused.

Benjamin Matthew Whitten and Jeryn Christine Johnson were represented by different lawyers as they put in their not guilty pleas before a courtroom packed with people.

The boy remained in grave condition Thursday, said Murrieta police Lt. Tony Conrad. His prognosis for recovery is poor, he said.

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Murrieta couple accused of torture, child abuse

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Benjamin Matthew Whitten, 33, from Murrieta waits to be arraigned on allegations of torture and child abuse after the man’s 5-year-old son was found with severe injuries in “extremely unsanitary” conditions at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley in French Valley Thursday, August 23, 2017. FRANK BELLINO, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

Jeryn Christine Johnson, 25, from Murrieta, waits to be arraigned on allegations of torture and child abuse at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley in French Valley Thursday, August 23, 2017. FRANK BELLINO, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

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Benjamin Matthew Whitten, 33, from Murrieta waits to be arraigned on allegations of torture and child abuse after the man’s 5-year-old son was found with severe injuries in “extremely unsanitary” conditions at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley in French Valley Thursday, August 23, 2017. FRANK BELLINO, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG

Jeryn Christine Johnson, 25, from Murrieta, waits to be arraigned on allegations of torture and child abuse at Southwest Justice Center in French Valley in French Valley Thursday, August 23, 2017. FRANK BELLINO, THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE/SCNG



Attorney Earl Roberts, who was representing Johnson, said he has no comment at this time.

A message left for Richard Briones-Colman, who was representing Whitten, wasn’t immediately returned at noon Thursday.

‘Justice for Feno’

Court proceedings were attended by nearly two dozen women and men, many of whom are members of a Facebook group called “Justice For Feno” — which has amassed more than 4,000 members.

While authorities have not named the boy, social media groups list his name as Feno.

“We’re just moms from Murrieta who are here to support the little boy and advocate for him,” said Cortney Kelly, 37, as she stood among the group outside the courtroom.

Many of the women were wearing T-shirts with blue hearts and the boy’s name.

People in the group outside the courtroom ranged from people who knew Whitten and Johnson directly to strangers who were moved by the boy’s story.

‘Unsanitary’ conditions

Whitten and Johnson are accused of abusing Whitten’s 5-year-old son and leaving him with serious injuries.

The boy was found comatose Aug. 15 when Murrieta Fire and Rescue and the Murrieta Police Department went to his home in the 24000 block of Verdun Lane on a medical distress call.

Police have said they found the boy in “extremely unsanitary” conditions. Authorities also found 11 dogs, four cats and two fish from the home, Murrieta police have said.

An investigation led detectives to believe he had been abused.

Court documents show that Johnson called 911 shortly after 10 a.m. Aug. 15 to report that the boy was not breathing. She told dispatchers she found him unresponsive in his bed and had moved him to the couch.

Medical aid showed up and started treating the boy. Officers from the Murrieta Police Department took note of his appearance, according to the document, a search warrant declaration authored by Detective John Therein.

One of the officers “immediately noticed how malnourished John Doe was,” the declaration states. “John Doe was very skinny and it appeared he had not been eating properly.”

The officer went to the boy’s bedroom, where he found a lock on the outside so the boy could be locked into his room, according to the declaration.

The boy was sleeping on a plank of wood instead of a mattress and attached to the bed was a blue rope that “may have been used to tie down John Doe,” according to the document.

A doctor at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar determined the boy was malnourished in a way consistent with starvation.

Later, at Rady’s Children’s Hospital in San Diego, it was determined the boy had injuries to his head, spinal cord, abdomen, abrasions to his neck.

During an interview with police, Whitten said that Johnson had removed the boy’s mattress from the bed and put into the garage because the boy had soiled it.

He explained the boy’s injuries occurred when Johnson picked him out of a pool and dropped him over some concrete and when he hit his head on the bed’s headboard, according to documents.