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This week, authorities in Kentucky apprehended a couple following a landlord’s complaint regarding the disarray in which they left their rental unit, ultimately sparking a child abuse probe.
According to the arrest records, Casey Farthing and Stephanie Harmer vacated their residence, leaving it in a state described as “deplorable.” Upon inspection, officials discovered the former apartment was overrun with cockroaches, littered with soiled diapers, stale food remnants, and human waste, as reported by WDKY.
The court documents revealed that the damages inflicted on the apartment amounted to $2,500.
When Richmond Police tracked the couple to their new residence, they found conditions that, while not as extreme, still included scattered garbage and excrement, according to the documents.
More disturbingly, officers observed scratches and blood smears on a closet wall within a bedroom, as detailed by the Lexington Herald. The closet door was secured with a lock different from those on other doors and cabinets in the home. Child Protective Services learned from the couple’s 5-year-old daughter that her parents confined her two brothers, ages 8 and 9, both of whom are nonverbal and autistic, in the closet as discipline “when they’re bad.”
Farthing and Harmer denied the allegation and said the lock was on the closet when they moved in, although the landlord denied that claim and said there was no blood and scratch marks prior to their moving in.
Investigators found that the 8-year-old boy had dried blood on two of his fingers and a broken fingernail.
Harmer told investigators that she had gotten overwhelmed by the mess and stopped trying to clean, WDKY said. All of the children wore diapers and never brushed their teeth, the court documents say.
Harmer reportedly told police that she’d gotten overwhelmed by the mess and stopped trying to clean it. All of the children wore diapers and had never brushed their teeth.
Harmer and Farthing were charged with criminal abuse, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal mischief. They were given $25,000 bonds and barred from being in a caretaking or supervisory role with children if they’re released, the Herald said.
All three of the children were removed from their care, according to WDKY.