SEYMOUR – A Seymour couple has been arrested after police say they found their children in “atrocious” living conditions involving raw sewage, flies, and dog feces.
According to court documents, 32-year-old Andrew Beck and 29-year-old Mandy Dowden were arrested on Friday on charges of child neglect. They are being held in the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown.
Indiana State Police troopers responded to a home on East County Road 1000 North after the Department of Child Services was contacted reporting three children including a month-old baby were malnourished.
When the troopers arrived they found several people standing outside adjoining homes. Representatives of the Department of Child Services were in the process of removing three children from the home a 2-year-old, a 1-year-old, and the baby.
One of the children was covered in tattoo ink when troopers arrived, according to court documents.
Police say all of the children had suffered bug bites. One had an impacted ear and bruises to the face. Another had two large cuts on his head, a possible hernia, injuries to both big toes, and a possible impacted ear.
The 1-month-old had extreme diaper rash, discolored skin, and was “extremely malnourished,” according to court documents. Police said they believed the 1-month-old had not eaten in days.
Inside the home of Dowden’s grandmother, police said “the house was dirty with a foul odor”.
“There were items stacked up everywhere throughout the home. I observed the floors to be particle board. The residence had an abnormal amount of dogs inside and there were dog feces on the floor scattered throughout the home.”
According to court documents, Beck and Dowden lived in an adjoining home, where the living conditions were “atrocious.”
Police say that the “stench resembled the smell of a chicken coop,” and that there were piles of trash, “flies everywhere,” raw sewage in the toilet, and holes in the floor.
Police noted there was no running water or food in the refrigerator or freezer.
Police say Beck, Dowden, and the children stayed in this home at night and went to the grandmother’s house, which was next door, during the day.
