Say What Now? Children, 4 and 5, Rescued from Roach-Infested Room After Yelling Out Broken Window for Help

Two young children, aged 4 and 5, were rescued on December 1 from a dire situation in their Bay County, Florida home after they called out for help through a broken window, according to a press release from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook.

The children’s parents and their grandfather, who also lived in the home, are now facing charges. Kathy M. Merrill, 27, and John W. Merrill, 31, have each been charged with two counts of child neglect, while Michael L. Beaubien, 73, faces charges for failing to report child neglect. Deputies responded after neighbors reported that the children had told them they were locked in their room and needed to use the bathroom. When authorities arrived, they found the children hanging out of a window, with the 4-year-old boy explaining that he needed to use the bathroom but the door was locked.

Upon entering the home, deputies described the children’s room as having a strong smell of urine and feces. The room contained minimal furniture, with only a bed covered in dirt and no sheets. Police noted that the bed had three blankets and a pillow on the floor. One window in the room was broken and covered with a piece of wood. Inside, the room was cluttered with broken toys, piles of trash, and cockroaches on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Outside the room, police observed a steel cable wrapped around the door handle, which had been used to lock the children in. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) was contacted and removed the children from the home, uncovering further disturbing details about their living conditions.

The children told DCF investigators that they were confined to the room overnight but were occasionally let out to use the bathroom. They reported feeling cold due to the lack of heat in the room, with the 5-year-old saying he was “freezing” and that his lips were cold. Police later confirmed that the house had no heating.

Interviews with the parents revealed that they had been locking the children in the bedroom every night since 2023. They stated that the children were only let out once they woke up. The mother reportedly acknowledged the trash in the room, explaining that she was “aware” of it but “did not have the energy to clean the room.” According to police, the parents claimed they had been attempting to teach the children to clean it themselves.

The children’s grandfather, whose bedroom was adjacent to theirs, told police he was aware of the children’s living conditions and confirmed that they were locked in their room every night.

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