FAMILY speaks out about abandoned boy

There are new developments in the case of a little boy abandoned in east Tulsa this weekend.<br><br>The News on Six first brought you the exclusive story of Damon Thornton Saturday.<br><br>Since then,

Saturday, July 28th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

There are new developments in the case of a little boy abandoned in east Tulsa this weekend.

The News on Six first brought you the exclusive story of Damon Thornton Saturday.

Since then, we've learned more about his life and his parents.

KOTV talked with some of Damon's relatives who are asking themselves how this could this happen.

At Nedra Turnbough's house, plenty of kids are always in and out.

Damon Thornton and his sisters have also spent a lot of time here, because Nedra's their grandmother.

"I took care of all them when my daughter went to jail, let's see a couple years back? And had all of 'em," says Turnbough

Court records show Damon's mother has been arrested a number of times on drug and alcohol-related charges. So has his father. But their mistakes haven't stopped Damon from loving them.

"He talked about his dad a lot. I mean, every time. He talked about his mom, but he talked more about his dad," says Felicia Ornder, Damonâ€™s Aunt. "I'm mad at his dad because, Damon loves him so much, but he's so mean to him. I don't know why he loves him that much when he's mean to him. He's like way mean."

And they don't just mean this incident. Damon has told them about things that they say no child should see.

"Clint and my sister Crystal, they were fighting when he was driving. So he threw Damon out of the car when he was driving, and he would have run over him...but Damon held on to the seatbelt," says Ornder.

There are also the stories of Damon staying in motel rooms by himself while his parents went out.

"He was told not to come out of the motel because there was a boogey man," says Turnbough.

Nedra Turnbough says Damon's parents need help and until they get it, she wants her grandchildren at home with her.

Damon's mother Crystal called the News on Six Sunday after hearing our story about her son being abandoned.

She said Damon's father told her the car over-heated and he went to get water.

Police say they waited by the car for more than an hour and no one returned.

Damon is now in DHS Custody, and his mother told us she would like to get him back.