A Bowie, Texas mother has been arrested after her five kids were found by police living in filthy conditions.
Jessica Dawn Lazek Petroni, 27, had only been living at her residence for six months when authorities found her children, ages three months to eight years old, living among human waste and garbage.
Lieutenant Rick Beckham with the Bowie Police Department said it was the first time he ever witnessed such a situation.
“The two-year-old came running up to me, held up her arms up to me and called me papa. You know, I got a bunch a bunch of grandkids… it was tough,” said Beckham to KFDX News.
Neighbours said Petroni’s kids were well-behaved and polite but there were some signs of child abuse and neglect.
“I’ve seen kids who have been abused, I’ve seen kids who were neglected, but not to this point. It was, it was pretty rough,” Beckham added.
The landlord of the property, Sarah Baumeister, was shocked to hear of the news, saying Petroni and her family were highly recommended as tenants for the home. But the home’s condition is the last thing on Baumeister’s mind.
“My husband and I talked about it this morning. We don’t care about the house, we don’t care about the fact that it needs to be re-done,” said Baumeister to KFDX. “It’s the fact that those babies were suffering, or even she was suffering, and she didn’t reach out for help.”
Baumeister said Petroni’s husband, Albert, had lost his job in the oil field so the community had recently come together to donate money to the family.
Petroni has been charged with five counts of child abandonment and endangerment as well as criminal negligence.
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