In a harrowing discovery, a Florida mother has been taken into custody following revelations that her three children were living amid deplorable conditions, with their home tainted by fecal matter.
Carla Nishikura now faces three charges of child neglect without significant bodily harm, as confirmed by jail records reviewed by Oxygen. The status of her plea is currently unknown, and her legal representative has yet to respond to inquiries for comment.
“Deputies were met with an appalling sight inside the residence,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly conveyed in a statement to Oxygen. “Such conditions are unfit for anyone, not even a pet, to endure for even one night.”
The disturbing scene came to light on July 16, prompted by a call from neighbors who observed a naked child wandering outside and hurling rocks, according to 911 call recordings accessed by Oxygen.
Upon Nishikura opening the door, she explained the situation involving her 8-year-old daughter, who has autism, is non-verbal, and has previously wandered off, as detailed in a charging affidavit referenced by Oxygen. Nishikura admitted the child had exited through the garage door while she was asleep, due to forgetting to secure it the night before.
Inside, officers were hit with a strong odor and noted that feces were “coating” the walls, floors and ceiling of the kitchen and living room, according to the affidavit. They also observed cracked electrical outlet covers with exposed wires.
The girl’s room contained only a bed frame, but no mattress, and the floor was “covered” with fecal matter, urine and cracked eggs, the affidavit noted. Nishikura said her daughter had been sleeping on a couch in the living room, while her other children slept in a separate bedroom or in her room.
Meanwhile, the officer noted in the affidavit that the 8-year-old was “using a tool to scrape fecal matter from the wall and manipulate it with her hands.”
One of the children said they were told not to enter their sister’s bedroom, according to the affidavit, adding that the feces—which they described as “hard as a rock”—had been there for approximately a month.
Nishikura acknowledged her living conditions but said she was unable to manage the home and children by herself.
She also said she had a Department of Children and Families caseworker but could not provide a name or contact number, according to the affidavit.
The officer later learned that a representative of a case management agency had visited the family’s home the previous day and filed a report over its “deplorable” conditions, according to the affidavit. That representative also told police that a cleaning service had been arranged, but the company declined due to the “biohazard conditions.”
Nishikura was detained outside while trying to re-enter her home, according to body-camera footage obtained by Oxygen. She was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on a $7,500 bond.
A judge later issued Nishikura a no-contact order with her children, regardless of her release. Court records show her next court date is Aug. 18.