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A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized and four children living with her were placed in protective custody by police after she was found Thursday with infected insect bites all over her body and feces on her legs in a filthy home lacking air conditioning, authorities said.
The elderly woman’s daughter and son-in-law, who also live at the house, have been questioned in the case but no arrests have been made, Lt. Doug Nolte said.
An emergency medical services crew went to the house near Ninth and Grove to check on the woman’s welfare at about 4 p.m. Thursday, he said. The house was filled with trash and there was fecal matter around the house.
“There were several pets in the house,” Nolte said.
Given her condition, Nolte said, it was clear the elderly woman was unable to take care of herself. Neither her daughter nor son-in-law were home at the time. All four children in the house — boys ages 14 and 17 and girls ages 16 and 10 months — were placed in protective custody.
Detectives plan to talk more with the 37-year-old daughter and her 35-year-old husband, Nolte said.
“If this is a family in need that just didn’t know how to get assistance, that’s one of the things we need to factor in,” he said.
