Three young children were rescued from an Oklahoma City apartment so filthy that responding officers had to wear hazmat suits.
Two of the children were found covered in faeces after being locked in a room for several hours.
Parents Aubrianna Freeman, 22, and Dakota Dodd, 24, were arrested on charges of child neglect following the shocking discovery on September 12. The situation came to light when neighbour Barbara North alerted authorities after noticing two young boys naked and seemingly in distress through an upstairs window.
The flat in Oklahoma City where the family lived (Picture: News 9 – Oklahoma City)
“I’d go by that window and see them little boys naked,” North told News 9. “They looked up at me as if to say ‘help me.’”
Upon arriving at the scene, police were immediately overwhelmed by the stench of faeces and urine. An officer described the smell as so strong that it made their “stomach turn and eyes water.” The property was reportedly in such poor condition that investigators donned hazmat suits to protect themselves.
Dodd, the boys’ stepfather and the biological father of Freeman’s 11-month-old daughter answered the door around 11:15 a.m., appearing as though he had just woken up. After initially claiming he was alone, he reluctantly admitted that the two boys, aged three and four, were upstairs.
According to an affidavit obtained by Law & Crime, officers encountered piles of what appeared to be human faeces on the stairs leading to the boys’ room. The room was nearly bare, containing only a plastic child’s slide and a few toys. The walls, floors, and windows were smeared with faeces. When officers opened the door, the boys immediately rushed out as though they had been trying to escape.
The affidavit noted that the boys were caked in dried faeces, which was found in their fingernails, and on their hands, feet, legs, and faces. Dodd later told police that he would lock the boys in the room for over 12 hours at a time so that Freeman could sleep, citing concerns about the safety of the neighbourhood.
In addition to the boys, the couple’s 11-month-old daughter was also found in the home but had been kept away from her brothers. All three children were taken to a hospital for evaluation and then placed into the care of the Department of Human Services.
Freeman and Dodd were arrested and charged with five counts each of child neglect. Their bonds were set at $250,000 each.
