His story made national headlines. For two years, Mitch Comer had been locked in a bedroom of his Paulding County home with little food. It was his parents’ idea of discipline, the couple’s attorneys later said.
When he turned 18, Mitch was loaded on a bus and sent to Los Angeles with some cash and pamphlets for a homeless shelter. But he was spotted by a former security guard, who called police. When he was returned to Georgia, Mitch was severely malnourished with translucent skin — evidence of his ordeal.
Nearly five years after his mother and stepfather were sentenced to 15 years in prison as part of a plea deal, the two could be up for parole, according to the Paulding County District Attorney. In his first public interview since his ordeal, Mitch said Thursday he doesn't want that to happen.
“I don’t think that’s right,” he said. “I don’t like it at all.”
Mitch, who now goes by Mitt, said Paul and Sheila Comer should serve more prison time, and DA Dick Donovan agrees.
“Letting them out after just five years just doesn’t…it offends me as a prosecutor and I’m sure it would offend the people of Paulding County if they knew about it,” Donovan said.
Despite the two years of his life that was taken from him, Mitt has flourished, completing high school and now studying at Kennesaw State University. His passion is electronics, and one day, he’d like to be inventor. Until then, he’s like any other college student, he says. Only he’s managed to put his abuse behind him.
“A long time ago, I heard about a dude that was left in a closet and he came out happy, and I said I’m going to be that dude, too,” Comer said.
In his own words
About the Author
