Parents of 6-year-old Paislee Shultis in court for charges of custodial interference and endangering


Paislee Shultis was abducted aged four in 2019. She is now six

Paislee Shultis was abducted aged four in 2019. She is now six

The parents and grandfather of a 6-year-old New York girl who was found alive under the stairs of her parents’ home in upstate New York after having been missing for two years appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday.

Kimberly Cooper, 33, and Kirk Shultis Jr., 32, were arrested Monday night after police found Paislee Shultis, now 6, being held in a dark, wet room underneath the staircase in a Saugerties home. They had kept her in isolation from society for more than two years.

Shultis Jr., his father, Kirk Shultis Sr., and Cooper all appeared in court Wednesday. The Shultis men refused to answer questions. 

The father and son were charged with one count each of felony custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor child endangerment. They are scheduled to appear in court again on April 27. 

Cooper also declined to answer any questions and covered her face with a hoodie. She’s been charged with second-degree custodial interference and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, though prosecutor Lauren Swan said she’s being ‘investigated with the potential for additional charges.’

Her next court date was scheduled for March 2. 

Paislee, then 4, was reported missing in July 2019 after being taken from her legal guardian’s home in Cayuga Heights, located approximately 162 miles from where she was found Monday. It’s unclear why her parents lost custody of their daughter.  

Kirk D. Shultis Jr. and Kimberly Cooper leave court Wednesday after being charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child of 6-year-old Paislee Shultis who was found by police in a makeshift room underneath a staircase

Kirk D. Shultis Jr. and Kimberly Cooper leave court Wednesday after being charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child of 6-year-old Paislee Shultis who was found by police in a makeshift room underneath a staircase

Kirk D. Shultis Sr. (left), the father of Kirk D. Shultis Jr, enters. He's also been charged in the kidnapping

Kirk D. Shultis Sr. (left), the father of Kirk D. Shultis Jr, enters. He’s also been charged in the kidnapping

The Shultis men arrived, refusing to speak to reporters

The Shultis men arrived, refusing to speak to reporters

Police have released mugshots of her alleged abductors, her non-custodial parents. Kimberly Cooper, 33, (left) is seen smirking

Police have released mugshots of her alleged abductors, her non-custodial parents. Kimberly Cooper, 33, (pictured) appears to be smirking despite having been charged with custodial interference in the second degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child

Kirk Shultis Jr. (pictured) was charged with one count each of felony of custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child

Kirk Shultis Jr. (pictured) was charged with one count each of felony of custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child

This is the makeshift room under the stairs where Paislee Shultis was found living in her paternal grandfather's home on Monday night

This is the makeshift room under the stairs where Paislee Shultis was found living in her paternal grandfather’s home on Monday night 

Cops flashed a light over the staircase and were able to see a dirty blanket from behind the staircase

Cops flashed a light over the staircase and were able to see a dirty blanket from behind the staircase 

Police had long suspected Cooper and Shultis of kidnapping the girl and believed she was being kept at the Saugerties house which belonged to her grandfather, Kirk Shultis Sr.

Police searched the property many times but came up empty. The residents repeatedly ‘denied any knowledge of the little girl’s whereabouts.’

However, a tip came in this week claiming the girl was being kept in the home, which resulted in officers obtaining a warrant to search the property. 

During the search, Saugerties Detective Erik Thiele ‘noticed something about the staircase leading from the back of the residence into the basement of the house that caught his attention.’

‘He took a flashlight and looked between the cracks between the steps,’ Sinagra told the TV station.

‘He saw what he thought it was a blanket, and at that point they used a halogen tool, a forcible entry tool, and they started ripping the steps off the staircase, itself. At one point they saw little feet, as he put it.’

The property belongs to Paislee's grandfather, Kirk Shultis Sr., who was also arrested and charged with one count each of felony of custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child

The property belongs to Paislee’s grandfather, Kirk Shultis Sr., who was also arrested and charged with one count each of felony of custodial interference in the first degree and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child

This is the family home in Saugerties, New York, where the family was living. Police said the girl had her own bedroom inside the home

This is the family home in Saugerties, New York, where the family was living. Police said the girl had her own bedroom inside the home

There is a child's play structure on the property where the girl had been living in secret for three years

There is a child’s play structure on the property where the girl had been living in secret for three years

Paislee and her mother were discovered hiding in the makeshift room shortly after. 

‘It was pretty dingy. It was cold. There was blankets that were laying on the ground, on the concrete floor. They were completely soaked, extremely heavy,’ Sinagra recalled.

‘Now it is our belief that each and every time in the past two years that we went to the residence with new leads, that this is where the child and mother would hide.’   

Kirk Shultis Jr. is pictured on Tuesday at the home, after being released from jail on bond. He said: 'The truth will come out', but did  not comment further

Kirk Shultis Jr. is pictured on Tuesday at the home, after being released from jail on bond. He said: ‘The truth will come out’, but did  not comment further

The home in Saugerties, New York, where the girl was found on Monday night after an anonymous tip

The home in Saugerties, New York, where the girl was found on Monday night after an anonymous tip

The Shultis family home in Saugerties, New York. The family has not commented publicly

The Shultis family home in Saugerties, New York. The family has not commented publicly  

Meanwhile, neighbors are flabbergasted that the missing girl had been in the home all this time.  

‘I’m just shocked, because they seemed like regular people,’ Annette Wrolsen said. 

Although neighbors never saw the girl outside the home, preliminary investigation revealed she did have her own bedroom. 

‘On the wall it said “Paislee,”‘ Sinagra shared. ‘There was clothing items there. It appeared that someone had been sleeping in the bed and somebody had been using the bedroom.

‘And of course, the father and the grandfather said, “no, that they had set that room up like that so that if Paislee was ever found, she had a place to come back to.”‘ 

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