Tennessee Couple Charged After Police Find Two Children Living in Roach-Infested, Garbage-Filled Home With Blocked Front Door
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE — A Tennessee couple has been charged with child neglect after officers discovered two young children living in what police described as severe, hazardous, and roach-infested conditions inside their cluttered Chattanooga home. According to investigators, the home was so filled with debris and stacked tables that officers could not access the front door during a Nov. 21 wellness check.
Authorities identified the adults as 65-year-old Leon Woods and 36-year-old Carol Phillips, who now each face two counts of child neglect after police found both children — one toddler and a 1-year-old — wearing only diapers and surrounded by dangerous debris.
Police Say Tables Blocked the Front Door and Officers Had to Knock on a Window
Officers responded to the residence following reports of an argument between Woods and Phillips, according to local ABC affiliate WTVC. When police arrived, they were unable to open the front door because several tables were stacked in front of it, forcing them to knock on a window instead. Woods eventually came to let them in.
Once inside, officers reported an overwhelming odor of rotting food, garbage, and body odor, saying there was no clear pathway through the home due to the level of filth and clutter.
Roaches Covered the Floors, Refrigerator, Porch — and Crawled on the Officers
According to the probable cause affidavit, roaches covered items on the porch, infested the refrigerator, and crawled across the officers themselves as they walked through the home. One child was seen crawling on the roach-covered floor wearing nothing but a diaper.
Woods then informed officers that a second child was also inside the house. Police found the 1-year-old lying face-down on a dirty mattress, surrounded by hazardous clutter including a sharp metal gate and exposed nails.
Neighbor Says She Filed Multiple Child Abuse Reports
A neighbor told WTVC that she had been worried for weeks about the children’s safety and had contacted authorities multiple times.
“This child would just scream, and we would report it, and the police would go, and then the police would leave,” she said. “I never understood why nothing was getting done.”
She also confirmed filing two child abuse reports in recent months.
Court Date Scheduled; One Defendant Listed as a Sex Offender
Court records show Woods and Phillips are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 5.
Woods is listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry as an “offender against children” and is also accused of violating his conditions of supervision.
Both children have been placed in safe care as the investigation continues.
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