News
Parents Arrested After Children Found Living in Filth, Fecal Matter
By: WOUB Contributing Writer
Posted on:
A mother and father are behind bars after police say they found their house filled with fecal matter and filth.
Crystal Barber, 32, and Matthew Bolen, 36, both of Huntington, are being charged with four counts of child neglect creating risk of injury. Bolen is also being charged with illegal possession of wildlife.
According to a criminal complaint, West Virginia State Police Trooper First Class W.G. Hash and MUPD Officer Minix were conducting a sex offender compliance check at a home at 753 Washington Avenue in Huntington.
When the officers entered the home, they found "extremely deplorable" conditions in every room. According to the complaint, the lower level of the home was covered in trash, feces and cat urine and had a strong smell of ammonia.
Two children were living in the home, a 10-year-old and a five-year-old, and according to the complaint, they were walking around barefoot in the home.
The officers continued to check welfare of the living conditions and found the upstairs to be "complete filth and unsanitary conditions" as well. According to the release, the upstairs bathroom had floating human feces and numerous amounts of cat feces. The five-year-old's bedroom was extremely dirty with feces scattered throughout the room. In the parent's bedroom, according to the release, officers found a wild squirrel as a pet and approximately one foot of fecal matter piled on the bedroom floor. The 10-year-old daughter's room was found to be the cleanest room in the home, but filth was still a factor.
According to the complaint, the officers did note that the parents did have a 42-inch tv in the living room and a 32-inch tv in their bedroom.
After finding the deplorable conditions, officers contacted CPS and a seven-day emergency parental plan was put into effect. According to the complaint, the children were then placed in the custody of their grandmother. The officers stated that neither of the parents showed any emotion during the incident and told the officers that the home had been cleaned about a week ago.
Barber and Bolen are both being held in the Western Regional Jail.