A Missouri couple is facing disturbing child abuse charges after authorities say they discovered their four young children living in horrifying conditions inside a trailer overrun with cockroaches, black flies, rotting garbage, and human waste.
According to a newly released police affidavit, Mateo Luna, 27, and Stephanie Passley, 26, are each charged with four counts of child abuse and neglect. The couple’s children, ranging from 8 months to 9 years old, were allegedly found trying to sleep amid trash heaps and decay — with one child even resorting to sleeping on top of an entertainment center to escape the filth.
“The entire floor of the residence throughout the house was covered in garbage, rotting food and other trash,” investigators wrote.
Butler County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Eddie Holloway was among the first to respond to the trailer in Neelyville after authorities received a tip about the squalid conditions. The scene left him shaken.
“I cried last night thinking about that little boy sleeping on that entertainment center,” Holloway said in an interview with local station KFVS. “I just don’t understand how a person could live like that and have their children in that. It just breaks my heart.”
The trailer reportedly had no running water and reeked of rot and human waste. Temperatures inside were in the high 80s, and the kitchen was filled with dirty dishes and spoiled food. Investigators also noted that one of the children’s doors had been modified to lock from the outside.
Passley allegedly admitted that her children had been trying to escape at night and said she kept them inside because they live near railroad tracks.
According to Holloway, one of the children revealed the family had been living in those conditions for about two years.
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Author: thedailycrime1
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