MANCHESTER, N.H. (WHDH) - Three family members have been indicted after five young children were found living in “deplorable conditions” inside an apartment in Manchester, New Hampshire, police said.
A grand jury returned indictments on Oct. 29 against the children’s parents, Alicia Washok, 37, and Eddie King, 44, as well as their maternal grandmother, Lori Harmon, 62, according to Manchester police.
All three face five counts of felony reckless conduct for allowing the children, who ranged from ages two to six, to live in an apartment scattered with both human and animal feces, police said.
They are also charged with two counts of second-degree assault after police say they neglected two of the children so much that they lost teeth and required extensive dental work.
King faces an additional charge of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting one of the children in the chest with a pellet gun, causing a projectile to become lodged in her body.
Officers responding to the apartment on Spruce Street on Sept. 10 to check on the conditions of the children spoke with the property manager who said he was trying to fix a leak that was coming from the second floor but the tenant refused to let him inside, police said.
The property manager reportedly added that the apartment had cockroaches inside and out and he could hear several children inside.
From the outside, police say officers could see a swarm of bugs and flies hovering around the exterior second-floor apartment windows and could smell a distinct stench coming from the unit.
Washok opened the door but would not immediately cooperate and refused to let officers inside, police said.
While officers stood at the door, a young child covered in filth and with a bad odor came out, police added.
Officers explained that by law they needed to check the inside of the apartment for the well-being of the children.
Once inside, police say they found trash covering the floor, flies and bugs on the ceilings and walls, and what appeared to be feces near the crib and moldy food where children slept.
Officers determined that the apartment was unsafe for the five children inside according to police.
They were removed from the apartment and taken to a safe location.
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