Authorities in Washington state who responded to a call last week for a medical emergency found the woman they were called about dead — and 10 sick children in a house that filled with strong odors, rotting food, and potential fire hazards.
The children were all taken to a hospital for treatment and placed into protective custody, KIRO reported.
“It was described as being pretty bad,” King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Earl Seratt said. “It was severe inside the residence.”
According to KOMO, four families were living in the home, including the mothers of all 10 children.
Deputies were called to the scene Thursday night and returned hours later with a search warrant and Child Protectives Services workers. Seratt said it’s not known yet how the woman died or if she was related to any of the children.
“It’s still an open and active investigation, so I don’t know all the details of those things,” he said. “I just know that the kids were not in a good spot and CPS felt it necessary to take them into protective custody.”
Officials said the youngest child was just a year old.
Deputies described the conditions at the home as “squalid,” while neighbors said problems at the address — neighbor complaints, code violations, and stolen vehicles recovered on the property — date back for several months.
In the past year, deputies have responded to the property to conduct an exterior-only search warrant after stolen cars were found there and to arrest a driver for eluding and hit and run after a stolen car chase ended there.
Despite frequent calls to the house, deputies said they had no idea there were any children living at the home, let alone 10.
Deputies said last week they expected charges to be filed against someone soon, but as of Wednesday, no arrests had been made.
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