Two parents were arrested in Washington on Tuesday for allegedly abandoning their three small children inside of a crumbled down, cold, feces-filled padlocked house that lacked food. The details of this story and the conditions these children were forced to live in are truly heartbreaking and beyond comprehension.
The victims of this terrible crime are a 7-year-old girl, who was reportedly taking care of her 3-year-old and 11-month-old brothers the best she could. Police only discovered they were alone after someone who says the children's 33-year-old parents owe him money went to collect the debt and reportedly found them padlocked inside the Lake Stevens house.
Police say the house was filled with animal feces and garbage and that it didn't have heat or food, save for an empty snack-size potato chip bag and an empty Pringles can. Police say it was about 40 degrees in the house and that parts of the home were falling apart, with drywall and insulation missing and water leaking from the ceiling.
The poor 11-month-old baby was reportedly suffering from the effects of hypothermia and dehydration and his body temperature was just 94 degrees. He was unable to move his extremities when he was transported to a hospital with his siblings.
Thankfully, all three children are okay now and are in the care of Child Protective Services.
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And where in the hell, you may be asking, were their parents? Well, they reportedly didn't bother coming home that day and police weren't able to track them down for four days. They were arrested at a business in Monroe and have been booked into jail for felony criminal mistreatment and abandoning a child. Both remained in custody in lieu of $13,000 bail, according to jail records.
The couple have reportedly been in trouble in the past with CPS and for health code violations.
Why do you think these parents (if guilty) left their children alone in deplorable conditions?
Image via sylvar/Flickr