A mum-of-15 forced her abused children to watch as she boiled their puppies to death, police say.

Martha Crouch, 53, and her husband Timothy, 57, were arrested and charged after the chilling allegations came to light when their eldest son was arrested.

Some of the horrifying allegations include one of the teenage daughters being beaten with a kitchen stool, the family dog being shot and the children being made to watch as Martha boiled their puppies on the hob.

Martha has been charged with a third-degree felony count of child abuse, a fourth-degree felony count of extreme cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor count of obstruction of investigation of child abuse or neglect, according to court records.

Her husband Timothy is accused of a misdemeanor count of obstruction of investigation of child abuse or neglect.

The couple, who have eight sons and seven daughters, were arrested after San Juan Sheriff's arrested their eldest son, Timothy, 31, on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on May 30.

He was accused of pointing a gun at three of his brothers and said he would shoot them over an argument about food, the Daily Times reports.

An affidavit for the arrest warrant says the row was started by one of the brothers who is allergic to beef and couldn't eat hot dogs.

Detectives then uncovered false allegations that two sons beat another brother to death and kidnapped a sister.

However, they also heard other claims of extreme abuse and animal cruelty.

Official documents state one young girl told authorities that Martha "took the puppies and put them into a giant pot and boiled them, making all the kids watch".

The girl also said her mother poisoned a kitten and police also found the body of the dead family dog, Pip, who had allegedly been shot as a punishment.

The couple's eldest son Timothy, 31, claims the allegations are false, telling KOB: “My family are wonderful people. My mom and dad are some of the best people you'll meet”.

KOB also reports the children were only allowed to eat once per day while one of the girls was placed on a "fat chain" for three years to suppress her appetite because Martha believed she was overweight.

One young boy said he was "beaten, shot, stabbed and run over by his parents” and still had BB gun pellets still inside him from "when the mother shot him with a shotgun".

Martha is also accused of beating her 17-year-old daughter with a kitchen stool.

The children also said the family would move from state to state if police or social workers noticed something was wrong and started investigating.

The couple were arrested on June 24 and remain in custody.

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