WARSAW, Ky. — The signs were allegedly visible when two young girls arrived at school.
Investigators say there were black eyes, bruises across their arms, and marks around their necks. Some of those injuries, prosecutors allege, had been covered with makeup.
WATCH: Two charged after children beaten, strangled in Northern Kentucky
The school reported suspected child abuse. A state worker responded. Law enforcement was notified.
But the girls — ages 6 and 8 — were still sent home.
And in the roughly 30 minutes before Gallatin County sheriff's deputies arrived there, investigators allege the children were abused again.
RELATED: Sheriff: Two arrested after deputies respond to reported child abuse in Gallatin Co.
That sequence of events is now at the center of a Gallatin County child abuse case that has resulted in two arrests, attempted murder charges and questions for the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services about how it responded to the initial report.
Kyle Reynolds, 23, and his girlfriend, Phyllis Culp, 29, are charged in the case.
Reynolds faces charges including attempted murder, first-degree strangulation, first-degree criminal abuse, second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. Court records list four attempted murder counts alleging the intentional attempted death of a child.
Culp faces charges of first-degree criminal abuse, endangering the welfare of a minor, first-degree strangulation and second-degree assault, including charges alleging complicity.
School reports abuse, but girls are sent home
The investigation began Aug. 28, when the girls arrived at school with what court records describe as "obvious physical abuse injuries."
According to a criminal complaint, school officials contacted the Department for Community Based Services, which operates under the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Law enforcement was also notified.
Gallatin County Attorney Grant Axon said the girls had extensive bruising.
"They had significant bruising all over their bodies, including strangulation marks on their neck," Axon said. "They'd had makeup put over many of these bruises."
What happened next is now drawing scrutiny.
The criminal complaint says a DCBS worker responded to the school and saw the children's injuries but "inexplicably advised the school to send the students home to their abuser." The complaint says that happened despite objections from the school and law enforcement.
Axon gave a similar account.
He said the school followed protocol by reporting the suspected abuse but was ultimately directed to send the children home.
"The school did advise law enforcement at the time all this was happening," Axon said. "Unfortunately, the children got home about half an hour before the deputies arrived."
Axon said investigators believe the girls were beaten again during that approximately 30-minute period.
WCPO contacted the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Tuesday and asked the agency to respond to the assertions from Axon and law enforcement.
WCPO specifically asked about the allegation that a cabinet worker advised the school to send the girls home despite objections from the school district and law enforcement, and that the girls were then allegedly abused before deputies arrived.
The cabinet has not yet responded.
Girls hospitalized, court records say
When deputies arrived, the criminal complaint says they separated the adults and children and began interviewing them.
Investigators documented bruising around the girls' necks, black eyes and bruises on their arms.
EMS responded and took both girls to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
Court records say the children's injuries and concerns for their safety were serious enough that the hospital admitted them.
Both underwent forensic interviews at a Children's Advocacy Center.
According to the criminal complaint, the 6-year-old described being punched and kicked and being hit with items including shoes and a spatula. She also described being strangled.
During one alleged incident, investigators say Reynolds strangled the girl while telling her she was "going to go to sleep and never wake up."
Axon said prosecutors viewed that alleged statement as evidence of intent and charged Reynolds with attempted murder.
The 8-year-old also described repeated physical abuse, including being punched, kicked and strangled, according to court records.
Axon said investigators have not established exactly how long the alleged abuse continued.
"My understanding is that it's been going on for some time," he said. "My assumption based off of what I've heard is, you know, a month, maybe a couple months, but we don't have a specific timeframe at this point."
Court records also describe alleged efforts to keep the children's injuries from being discovered.
According to the complaint against Culp, she told investigators Reynolds had put makeup on the girls in an attempt to conceal what he had done before they went to school.
The complaint says Culp acknowledged witnessing alleged abuse on multiple occasions and described going into a bathroom during some of those incidents. Investigators also wrote that she said she would continue living with Reynolds if he were released from jail.
Axon said prosecutors allege Culp had opportunities to intervene but failed to protect the children.
$1 million bonds
The allegations were laid out again Tuesday in Gallatin District Court.
Axon said two deputies testified during a hearing that lasted roughly an hour and a half. After hearing the evidence, a judge found probable cause to send both cases to a grand jury.
Culp's bond had previously been set at $250,000. Axon said the judge increased it to $1 million following Tuesday's hearing.
Reynolds is also being held on a $1 million bond, court records show.
For Axon, the allegations stand out even among the child abuse cases his office has handled. He said Culp seemed timid in court Tuesday and that Reynolds was seen smiling several times.
"This is one of the, if not the, most significant child abuse case that any of us have ever worked on," he said. "From a personal standpoint, I can tell you that this is one that has affected me emotionally, listening to the things, watching the defendant's facial expressions during the hearings. It's very, very upsetting."
