A twisted mother ‘laughed about’ forcibly tattooing her children with her husband before trying to tear off their flesh, a court has heard.
Megan Farr, 29, and her husband Gunnar Farr, 25, both pleaded guilty in separate court cases after they were arrested on April 24, 2023, for tattooing her children with a staple, an arrest affidavit, obtained by KTRE, revealed.
The children, who were five and nine years old at the time, were tattooed at the couple’s home in Zavalla – about two hours outside of Houston.
Before applying the painful tattoos to the children, the couple tied them down with rope, blindfolded them and also covered their mouths with tape, the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office said.
After one child got a tattoo on their foot and the other got one on their shoulder, their mother and step-father attempted to remove them with lemon juice, which left the children with severe injuries, per the affidavit.
‘It appeared that the flesh was removed from the body at the tattoo’s location. And this happened about the time CPS became involved,’ former Zavalla Police Department Interim Chief James Denby told the outlet at the time.
At the time of the traumatic incident, friends of the couple were in the house, Denby said.
Afterward, Megan told her ex-husband and father of her two children that they tattooed the kids before she ‘laughed about it and drove away,’ the affidavit stated.
Once the children’s biological father and step-mother noticed the tattoos on their skin, they reported the incident to Child Protective Services (CPS).
Denby previously told the outlet that someone came forward after the investigation was opened and turned over a tattoo kit.
‘Someone came forward and turned in a tattoo kit that she claimed was loaned to Gunner to perform tattoos. She didn’t know it was going to be performed on a child,’ Denby said.
During Gunnar’s trial, Angelina County Assistant District Attorney David Griffin said what the couple did was ‘completely unacceptable.’
‘To forcibly hold down your own children and tattoo them, is completely unacceptable and will never be allowed in Angelina County,’ Griffin said.
‘You have children who couldn’t stand up for themselves, weren’t allowed to fight back.’
Following the incident, the children were placed in CPS custody. It is unclear if they are still there or were returned to family.
They were both arrested and charged with unlawful restraint and bodily injury to a child before posting bond.
On March 19, 2025, Gunnar pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years for the restraint charges and another five for each of the four bodily injury charges. His terms are set to be served consecutively.
Meanwhile, Megan pleaded guilty Thursday to injuring a child. Her sentencing hearing is set to take place 45 days from her arraignment.
You have to be 18-years-old to get a tattoo in Texas with parental consent. Some minors, ages 16 and 17, can get them if a parent allows it, but they cannot be on their face, neck or hands.
In January, an Arizona tattoo artist was slammed after inking a nine-year-old girl who asked for a portrait of Donald Trump on her neck.
The artist, who goes by the name Sosa, is part owner of Black Onyx Empire Tattoo shop in Yuma where the girl traveled with her family to get a portrait of the president.
Sosa, who shared video of the inking process, said he persuaded her to do a ‘more patriotic tattoo’ instead – of a US flag on her arm.
In Arizona, it is legal for a minor to get a tattoo with parental permission and their parent must be present for the session.