BREAKING: CHILDREN RESCUED FROM ALLEGED ‘HOUSE OF HORR0RS’ AS POLICE DESCRIBE A HOME FILLED WITH FILTH, FLIES AND A STENCH THEY SAY WAS ALMOST UNBEARABLE
Four members of the same family have been arrested (Image: Putnam County Sheriff’s Office)
Four children have been rescued from what authorities are calling a “house of horrors,” found covered in animal feces and urine, with the stench so overwhelming that a responding officer nearly vomited.
Officers report that flies were swarming around mattresses used by other children discovered in the home, with mold eating through the floors.
Four adults have been arrested in connection with the appalling conditions at the Florida residence — Jordan Tyler Wilson, 30, Melissa Keal, 50, and John Keal, 52. Their arrests came one week after 26-year-old Jodie Cannon was charged with aggravated child neglect with great bodily harm and child neglect, after her six-week-old baby was found to be suffering from severe medical neglect.
A total of four children were rescued from the home — three were the biological children of Cannon and Wilson, while the fourth was adopted.
Melissa Keal, 50, is Cannon’s biological mother; John Keal, 52, is Cannon’s stepfather; and Jordan Wilson, 30, is the biological father of the children. All three have been charged with neglect.
Four adults are facing neglect charges after the horrific discovery (Image: CBS)
According to court documents, officers from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office attended the property alongside SWAT team members to conduct a search. They had received a tip from the Florida Department of Children and Families indicating that a child was living there and that the home presented serious structural hazards.
Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach stated: “Words cannot describe the house of horrors these children were living in.
“Animal feces and urine everywhere, black mold, flies – small children trying to navigate hazardous flooring conditions – and the sad part is they have grown around all of this, not knowing they were dealt the absolute worst conditions I can imagine living in a First World country.”
Following the hospitalization of Cannon’s 6-week-old infant, authorities subsequently secured a search warrant for the property, where the mother resided with her children, Wilson, Melissa and John Keal, and another child.
Jordan Wilson is the dad of three of the children (Image: Putnam County Sheriff’s Office)
Officers detected a “strong odor of animal urine” upon entering the residence and reportedly discovered the living room, which served as the family’s sleeping area, infested with flies.
While Melissa and John Keal reportedly slept on couches, the infant was placed on a “filthy mattress on the floor.
“There was an infestation of flies not only in the living room, but also in the kitchen and hallway,” the affidavit states. “The flies were also swarming the area where the juvenile was sleeping.”
Animal waste was discovered throughout the residence, and the kitchen sink contained unwashed dishes that “had not been cleaned for a large amount of time.”
The flooring underneath the sink had begun to deteriorate and showed signs of mold growth.
Mom Jodie Cannon is led away by the police (Image: Putnam County Sheriff’s Office)
Wilson’s bedroom was reportedly “in cluttered, deplorable conditions,” with flies and cockroaches present throughout the space. The residence’s refrigerator reportedly held “barely enough food for all four people to eat” and gave off such a repulsive smell that it “almost made a SWAT team member vomit,” investigators documented.
The property was deemed uninhabitable and a child was taken from the residence due to the alleged neglect, according to the affidavit.
The State Attorney’s Office concluded there was probable cause to charge the adults with child neglect.
Following the search the remaining children were taken from the residence.
DeLoach added: “I applaud those who have stepped up to show these young children what a safe home, family and love should look like. The children and the foster parents caring for them have a long road ahead of them.”