Police officials said the children’s parents, 41-year-old Matthew and 34-year-old Talethea, were taken into custody and later charged with first-degree cruelty to children and deprivation of a minor after their 3-year-old child nearly died from ingesting a fatal amount of fentanyl and a their 1-year-old child who appeared to have been burned with a grill and was drinking from a bottle filled with live maggots. Another woman, 31-year-old Aisha, was also arrested and later charged with possessing synthetic narcotics, cocaine, heroin, and oxycodone.
The father was also charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Police officials said that the relationship with the other defendants was not immediately clear. Deputies responded to a 911 call in reference to an unresponsive 3-year-old girl. The first responders located the 3-year-old in a semi-lucid and semi-conscious state and dosed the child with NARCAN, a drug that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses.
The unidentified girl wash rushed to the hospital where she was reportedly given a second dose of NARCAN and admitted to the facility in critical condition. A test of the child’s urine and blood came up positive for fentanyl, L&C reported. The responding deputies reportedly discovered a 1-year-old child who appeared to have sustained burns to his back, arms, and hands. The 1-year-old child was rushed to the hospital where doctors reportedly found live maggots in the bottle from which the child had been drinking.
Per reports, the parents’ home was reportedly in decrepit condition, with no running toilets, exposed live wires, several buckets of human waste, insect-infested food, and drug paraphernalia throughout. Dangerous chemicals were also reportedly being stored right next to the baby formula and there were human f-ces and roaches throughout the home. The other two children, an 8-year-old and a 5-month-old, were removed from the home and taken to a local hospital for evaluation.