A Blytheville, Arkansas, woman is facing child endangerment charges after authorities allegedly found her children living in a home inundated with maggots.
KAIT reported that neighbors called police Tuesday morning after they heard children screaming from inside the residence. The children not only refused to open the door for officers but cursed at them, according to an incident report.
As the children’s grandmother worked to get the kids to open the door, their mother, Charlese Whitfield, 29, arrived and wanted to know why police were at her home. She then proceeded to have one of the children open the door to prove they’re okay.
Though Whitfield immediately told her child to shut the door, an officer managed to enter the home and was hit with “a very foul odor,” the report detailed. Police claimed the home was filled with garbage “along with flies and maggots in the living room, kitchen, and all three bedrooms.”
Police claimed the home was filled with garbage “along with flies and maggots in the living room, kitchen, and all three bedrooms.”
The bathroom was supposedly trashed and the toilet was overflowing with feces and urine. A hallway leading to the bedrooms had a fourth an inch of standing water possibly from an air conditioner sitting on a small table. The home had electricity but allegedly had no running water.
“I noticed they were all wearing very dirty clothing and no shoes,” one of the officers said. “I also observed them to be very dirty and unkempt.”
Officers also noted that one of the children had scars on their left arm and chest which were possibly consistent with abuse. Though the child claimed the scars came from being scratched by a door frame, a younger sibling reportedly said, “No, you didn’t. That came from Mama.”
Whitfield was arrested and charged with five counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor. The 29-year-old supposedly had two open warrants at the time of her arrest.
The children were put in their grandmother’s care.
[Featured Image: Mississippi Co. Sheriff’s Office]
