Deputies find children living in ‘horrendous’ Northeast San Antonio apartment
Deputies said the smell of trash and old food coming out of the home was so bad that they initially thought they would find a dead body.
Courtesy of BCSO
Bexar County deputies discovered four children living in “horrendous” conditions at an apartment complex on the Northeast Side after getting a call about a terrible smell. Sheriff Javier Salazar said on Monday, May 23, that the smell coming out of a unit at the Palm Tree Apartments at 6733 Montgomery Drive was so bad, investigators thought they might find a decomposing body.
Instead, they found four children, ages 2 to 13, living with their parents in “horrendous” conditions. He said the apartment was filled with trash and old food, as well as human and animal feces.
“There were insects and literally rats crawling over the detectives feet,” Salazar said. “We couldn’t figure out how it is the kids have been living in these conditions for any amount of time at all.”
The kitchen was littered with trash.
Courtesy of BCSO
Salazar said children were relatively healthy and were taken by Department of Family Protective Services, which is trying to find relatives for the children. As for the mother and father, Salazar said that both will be charged with four counts of endangering a child.
He said that the mother worked at a hospital as an assistant and seemed fully aware of the conditions that the children were living in. However, he says mental health issues could be present in one or both of the parents, but investigators are still working the case.
As for the smell, Salazar says investigators were still combing the apartment but doesn’t think there is anything deceased inside.
