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Responding to a distress call in Washington state last week, authorities encountered a grim scene: a deceased woman alongside 10 ailing children within a residence rife with overpowering odors, decomposing food, and potential fire risks.
All 10 children were promptly taken to a hospital for medical evaluation and subsequently placed under protective custody, as reported by KIRO.
“The conditions inside were described as quite severe,” stated Sgt. Earl Seratt of the King County Sheriff’s Office. “It was a dire situation within the home.”
The home was shared by four families, including the mothers of the 10 children found there, according to a report by KOMO.
Deputies initially arrived on the scene Thursday night, only to return later with a search warrant and Child Protective Services personnel. At this time, the deceased woman’s cause of death remains undetermined, and it is unclear whether she had any familial ties to the children.
“It’s still an open and active investigation, so I don’t know all the details of those things,” he said. “I just know that the kids were not in a good spot and CPS felt it necessary to take them into protective custody.”
Officials said the youngest child was just a year old.
Deputies described the conditions at the home as “squalid,” while neighbors said problems at the address — neighbor complaints, code violations, and stolen vehicles recovered on the property — date back for several months.
In the past year, deputies have responded to the property to conduct an exterior-only search warrant after stolen cars were found there and to arrest a driver for eluding and hit and run after a stolen car chase ended there.
Despite frequent calls to the house, deputies said they had no idea there were any children living at the home, let alone 10.
Deputies said last week they expected charges to be filed against someone soon, but as of Wednesday, no arrests had been made.