Mom of locked-up kids claimed they were #BESTFAMILYEVER

The Wisconsin mom accused of keeping her two young sons locked up in a feces-covered “horror-movie” house used social media to portray their lives as a happy family — even using the hashtag #BESTFAMILYEVER.

Katie Koch, 34, used social media to post memes about wrestling, witchcraft and her support for ex-President Donald Trump — but mostly to gush about her love for her co-accused, boyfriend Joel Manke, 38.

The 7- and 9-year-old sons she is accused of locking up in a feces- and urine-covered home are rarely seen, with Koch blaming it on them going through “a ‘please, no photos’ phase.”

When she did post pics, they often grimaced in apparent discomfort — with their faces buried under unruly mops of hair that were so matted with feces they later had to be shaved off in a hospital.

Katie Koch, 34, used social media to paint a picture of a happy home life with Joel Manke and her two sons.
Instagram / @bohogypsy33

One pics showed one of the boys hanging a Christmas decoration over one of their bedroom windows, which officials said were boarded up — seemingly wearing a diaper, which the boys still used because they still had not been potty trained, an affidavit noted.


Social media showing one of the boys hanging up a decoration.
One pic appears to show boy wearing a diaper while hanging decorations over a window officials would later say was boarded up.
Instagram / @bohogypsy33

The happiest the boys looked was in a series of shots where they ran to greet their grandma in the middle of the pandemic.

Koch would eventually admit she “f—ed up” and knew “her boys deserve better,” the affidavit said of her interview under oath.


Kpch's social media pic showing her sons running to their grandma.
The happiest the kids looked was greeting their grandma.
Instagram / @bohogypsy33

However, in her social media posts she used hashtags to say she was #blessed with the #BESTFAMILYEVER.


Halloween pics of what Koch said was the #BESTFAMILYEVER.
Koch used the hashtag #BESTFAMILYEVER in images of her, Make and the kids at Halloween.
Instagram / @bohogypsy33

Mostly, that was credited to Manke, her boyfriend since late 2019 who later admitted to cops that he “knew how the children were living was not right but he had to ‘pick his battles’ … to avoid arguments.”

Koch gushed over his parenting skills in a February 2020 post alongside photos of him leading the boys by the hand, their heads under hats.


Koch's picture of boyfriend Joel Manke and her two sons.
Koch gushed about Manke’s fathering skills in a post alongside a pic of him leading them by the hand.
Instagram / @bohogypsy33

“Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs,” she wrote of Manke.

“The ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what.”


Katie Koch and Joel Manke.
Koch’s social media is full of loved-up pics with her boyfriend and co-accused Joel Manke.
Instagram / @bohogypsy33

“It takes a strong man to accept somebody else’s children and step up to the plate another man left on the table….” 

“Joel, Thank You!!!!” she wrote.

Both would eventually be arrested after the boys escaped, with neighbors reporting that the naked, blood-covered kids looked like “cavemen” who’d never seen the sun before.


Katie Koch in her mugshot.
The mom, pictured in her mugshot, admitted to cops that she ‘f—ed up’ in keeping her kids in squalid conditions.
Milwaukee County Sheriff

Each faces more than 40 years in prison if convicted of multiple counts of neglect and false imprisonment.

“It was something out of a horror movie,” Assistant District Attorney Mallory Davis told an initial hearing, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.


Joel Manke in his booking photo.
Manke told cops he went along with the boys’ treatment to avoid fighting with their mom, an affidavit said.
Milwaukee County Sheriff

“These children have been horribly damaged from their mother’s actions … They are, essentially at this point, unable to function in society.”

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