5 children, 13 pets rescued from squalor
MUNCIE — Child Protective Services and Muncie police rescued five children from a house on Thursday and their mother was charged with neglect over what police described as horrible conditions.
Thirteen pets also were evacuated from the house at 1212 S. Franklin St., several blocks from the Liberty Bowl bowling alley.
Heather Spring Parks, 37, was jailed on five felony counts of neglect of a dependent.
There was one mattress in the house to sleep on, no food in the refrigerator, no air conditioning, the plumbing didn't work and only one fan worked, according to police officer Zac Osborn.
He also said:
• The children were "extremely dirty," and one of them had a standing injury that went untreated. The children had no clean clothes or proper footwear. The children had white balls in their hair and possibly lice, and there were indications of bedbugs in the home.
• Fecal matter was found on the walls and carpeting. Mold was growing on the walls and the ceiling. There was standing water inside the home.
Thirteen animals were removed, but there could have been more that weren't visible. There also were animal carcasses in some of the cages.
Phil Peckinpaugh, director of the city animal shelter, said the animals included a dog, a cat, snakes, lizards, frogs and turtles that were not well cared for and had been living in dirty cages.
The suspect has a minor prior criminal record for shoplifting and false informing. She paid a fine in city court for failure to provide rabies shots.
Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.
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