Pictured left to right: Timothy MacDonald and Lana MacDonald (Pike County Detention Center). Background image: Regina Belcher Highway in Pike County, Kentucky (Google Maps).
Authorities in Kentucky have discovered a home in such appalling condition that it harbored black mold and deceased insects in the refrigerator. One of the residents admitted, “I’m embarrassed, it’s bad,” highlighting the severity of the situation.
The residents, identified as Timothy MacDonald and Lana MacDonald, are facing second-degree criminal abuse charges, according to records from the Pike County jail. At present, they do not appear to be in custody at the Pike County Detention Center.
The incident unfolded on the evening of Tuesday, August 18, when the Kentucky State Police responded to a call on Regina Belcher Highway in Pike County. This location is situated in the southeastern part of the state.
Accompanied by state troopers, a Department for Community Based Services employee arrived at the scene around 5:30 p.m. to conduct a welfare check, as reported by the regional CBS affiliate WYMT.
Authorities knocked on the door and could apparently hear small children and a dog inside, but no one answered.
An officer then knocked on a window, and a girl cracked the front door open. The child reportedly said their mother was busy working in her bedroom and her father was not home. Around this time, Timothy MacDonald showed up on an ATV.
Troopers are said to have learned that the man had six active warrants in the county, and the woman had four. Lana MacDonald left the home but allegedly would not let troopers inside, saying, “if she was going to jail she was not letting [them] inside.”
Timothy MacDonald eventually told his oldest daughter to let them in, according to the local outlet. Authorities found three children — ages 16, 11, and 5 — inside. Only one of the children was wearing a T-shirt, law enforcement said.
The house was apparently in horrible condition. When troopers went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, they said they found it covered in black mold and filled with dead bugs.
The parents were then arrested, and the children were placed into protective custody.
The post Couple left 3 kids in filthy home with black mold, admitted ‘it’s bad’ while not letting police inside: Authorities first appeared on Law & Crime.