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A Missouri woman has admitted trading her foster daughter for a monkey because they weren't getting along.
Brenda Deutsch, 70, of Winfield, took a plea deal on Monday agreeing to plead guilty to one count of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree.
Deutsch, who has fostered more than 200 children, sent her eighth-grade-aged foster daughter to a family in Texas in exchange for the monkey, a witness told investigators.
The girl's situation was only uncovered after her excessive school absences triggered an investigation by the Winfield School District in February 2025.
They discovered that the girl had been turned over to Child Protective Services (CPS) in Texas after her new caretaker left her with another family who were unable to look after her.
'Both of those people are disabled and not able to take care of the child. From what we can tell, the child was taking care of them,' Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood said.
'The child had been left alone in Texas for extended periods of time. It wasn't isolated. It was a culture of abuse and neglect.'
Prior to that, authorities were investigating Deutsch after the Missouri Department of Social Services received an anonymous tip in November 2024 that she was abusing the girl, court documents said.
Brenda Deutsch, 70, faces up to seven years in prison after taking a plea deal on Monday in which she admitted trying to trade her foster daughter for a monkey
The Missouri foster mom set up the trade in Texas because she and her foster daughter were 'not getting along' (File photo)
The child told investigators her foster mother hit her in the face, whacked her with a paddle and smacked her, leaving her with injuries and bleeding, the probable cause document viewed by the Daily Mail said.
She told investigators that the abuse had begun three years prior, from September 2022 to January 2025.
She also detailed a time where Deutsch was leaning over her while she laid on the living room floor, where the foster mother allegedly struck her and called her a 'b**ch,' the probable cause documente said.
The girl claimed Deutsch instructed a family member to hold her down while she pulled down the girl's pants and spanked her with a paddle, the document said.
The eighth grader also said Deutsch threatened to 'kill her' and that the older woman called her 'annoying and rude.' She also said she spoke with many people about Deutsch's behavior but her complaints were not believed, per the document.
She also told investigators that she spent nine months in a residential psychiatric facility when she was 14 due to Deutsch calling the police on her after she tried to run away, court documents said.
The girl, who was not identified, also claimed other children had been abused by Deutsch.
Deutsch had fostered more than 200 children over the decades during which time more than 200 calls were made about her alleged behavior
Winfield School District located the child after it began its investigation into her absences.
The school resource officer got in contact with Texas law enforcement, who spoke with the child who confirmed she was unharmed.
Deutsch's friend told investigators that Deutsch did not want the child back, the affidavit states.
Deutsch said she had bought a plane ticket for the girl, but her friend had no way to get her to the airport, court documents said.
KMOV reported that more than 200 phone calls to a hotline had been made against Deutsch over the decades but she was never reported to the police, frustrating prosecutors.
'Disappointed to learn that this particular home, despite the notoriety that it had gained, was not in our system,' Wood said.
'We didn't have any police reports. We didn't have any requests for prosecution. We didn't have anything.'
Deutsch faces up to seven years in prison. Her case will be reviewed on July 21.
The elderly woman also still faces a financial fraud case, which is pending.
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