Law enforcement officers did not know what to expect.
Two young boys were screaming for help from a broken window in a mobile home.
And police broke down in tears when they saw what these Florida parents did to their two young boys.
Most everyone agrees that child abuse and neglect are serious crimes.
But many Americans do not realize how many children are abused and neglected each year in the United States.
According to Child Protect, roughly five children die every day because of child abuse.
One out of three girls and one out of five boys will be sexually abused before they reach age 18.
In 2010, 1,537 children died of abuse or neglect.
In all, 79.4% were under the age of four, and 47.7% were under the age of one.
Unbelievably, 68% of victims are abused by a family member.
Deputies in Bay County, Florida, recently responded to calls from neighbors who reported two young boys “were yelling out of a broken window, begging for help.”
The two boys told the neighbors they needed to use the bathroom but were locked inside their bedroom.
When the deputies entered the home to help the boys, what they discovered will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
“Upon arrival, deputies found the children locked in a filthy, bug-infested bedroom with no heat or bathroom facilities,” the Tampa Free Press reported. “The door was secured with a steel cable, and the room was littered with trash and cockroaches,” Tampa Free Press continued. “The children told investigators they were often locked in the room overnight and were ‘freezing’ due to the lack of heat.”
There was only one piece of furniture in the room, cockroaches were crawling all over the place, and a broken window was covered by a piece of wood.
“Two minor children were discovered in a home, locked in a filthy, bug-infested bedroom with no heating or bathroom facilities,” Sheriff Tommy Ford said.
According to the children, they were only allowed out of the room to use the bathroom.
The kids were freezing since the home had no heater and the parents refused to put one in the room.
“Cockroaches were spotted along the floor, ceiling, and walls, and old ‘piles of trash’ and ‘broken toys’ were also found at the scene,” the Independent reported. “A dilapidated bedroom window had been patched up with a plank of wood.”
Police interviewed the parents and could not believe their excuse.
The sons had been locked in the bedroom every night since 2023 and were only allowed out when the adults were awake.
The mother, Kathy Merrill, claimed that she was too tired to clean their bedroom.
Their paternal grandfather knew about the situation but did nothing about it.
Police arrested Kathy M. Merrill and John W. Merrill and charged them with two counts of child neglect.
The grandfather, Michael L. Beaubien, was also charged with failure to report child neglect.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
