MOTHER BREAKS HER SILENCE AFTER 3 CHILDREN FOUND LIVING IN ‘BIOHAZARD’ HOME…

MOTHER BREAKS HER SILENCE AFTER 3 CHILDREN FOUND LIVING IN ‘BIOHAZARD’ HOME 💥 POLICE FILE THREE FELONY CHILD NEGLECT CHARGES

A Florida mother has been charged after three children were found living in what authorities called “deplorable” conditions.

Carla Nishikura, 41, was arrested and charged with three felony counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, according to local outlets WESH, Click Orlando and WFTV, which cited the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO).

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the local outlets, deputies responded to a home in Palm Coast, Fla., at around 8:40 a.m. on July 16 after receiving a welfare check call from a neighbor, who reported seeing a child outside the home without clothing. The neighbor returned the child to the home before police arrived.

When deputies arrived, they made contact with Nishikura who told them that the child, who has been diagnosed as autistic, is non-verbal and had escaped through the garage door while she was sleeping after she forgot to zip tie it closed, WESH and Click Orlando reported.

At the home, deputies noticed a strong odor similar to fecal matter and they saw feces coated the floors, walls and the ceiling in the kitchen and living room, according to the arrest affidavit, per Click Orlando and WFTV. The floor was also reportedly covered with fecal matter, cracked eggs and urine, per the outlets.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

In addition to this, investigators also found the electrical outlet covers were cracked, exposing the wiring in the home, which was accessible to the children, the outlets reported.

Investigators noted that three children appeared to live there, and the child who was found outside the home was described as having been naked and barefoot. According to the affidavit, the children had been sleeping on a couch due to the conditions of the rooms, WFTV reported.

A case worker with the Department of Children and Families visited the home the previous day and reported “deplorable living conditions” in the home, according to WESH and WFTV.

Nishikura told deputies that she had been working with the Department of Children and Families, which set up a cleaning company to come to the home, per WESH. However, the cleaning company declined to clean the home “due to the biohazard conditions,” Click Orlando reported.

“One of the children reported they were instructed not to enter [REDACTED] bedroom due to the risk of exposure to the biohazard materials,” the affidavit said, per Click Orlando. “The child stated that the fecal matter in the room had been present for approximately one month and described it as ‘hard as a rock.’ ”

Nishikura reportedly told officers, per the outlets, that she was aware of the home’s condition but said she was unable to manage the home and children on her own.

Nishikura was booked into the Flagler County Jail on July 16 and later charged with the three felony counts. Her bond was listed at $2,500 per count, according to inmate records viewed by PEOPLE.