Mom and Stepdad Arrested After Allegedly Moving Away and Leaving Daughter Alone in Home Filled with Dog Feces and Urine

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The mother and stepfather of a 14-year-old girl in Alabama were arrested and charged with child abuse and animal cruelty

• This came after the teenager was sent to the hospital after he was seen stumbling on the road near a Dollar General store.

• Police executed a search warrant at his home and found the interior covered in urine, feces, cockroaches and garbage. Officers also found a dead dog and six other dogs in the home.

A mother and stepfather were arrested for allegedly leaving their 14-year-old daughter to live alone with pets in a neglected house.

Marchelle Lynn Pertilla and Eugene Medrano were arrested and charged with child abuse and animal cruelty, according to local media. WALA, WKRG And KOLDHe cited the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. (MBSO)

PEOPLE contacted the sheriff’s office for comment on Saturday, Jan. 10, but did not immediately receive a response.

MCSO told local media that the investigation into the incident began Jan. 4 after employees at Dollar General filed a report that they saw a young girl stumbling on the road in front of the store.

Police teams arrived at the scene and identified the girl, who said she was experiencing dizziness and stomach ache, and she was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Detectives interviewed the teenager at the hospital and he claimed that he had been living alone in his home with his dogs since February last year and that he had not seen his mother and stepfather since October 31. He also claimed that they moved to Pensacola, Florida, without him, according to KOLD.

She also told officers that her main communication with her parents was through the social media app Snapchat, and that her mother would send groceries through DoorDash or Walmart deliveries.

The next day, officers with Prichard Animal Control executed a search warrant at the teen’s trailer on Eight Mile, which they said was covered in urine, feces, roaches and trash. According to WALA and KOLD, they found one dog dead in a closet taken by Prichard Animal Control and six other dogs living on the property.

Detectives also found a note in the teen’s handwriting that read: “How many times has my mother told me she couldn’t take me!” He said they also found a handwritten note titled: and said it had 87 points on it.

The police identified the young man’s parents and interrogated them about the incident. Pertilla allegedly told detectives that the teen was left alone because he refused to leave his service animals, according to KOLD. It was unclear whether any of the dogs were service animals.

Pertilla and Medrano were later taken into custody and transported to the Mobile County Metro Jail.

“We continue to seek answers as to why this young girl was living alone and whether others attempted to call law enforcement,” Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said in a statement to KOLD and WALA.

Want to keep up with the latest crime news? Sign up PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter For breaking crime news, ongoing trial news and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“Thankfully, we were able to respond to the Dollar General employee who contacted the county. If you see something, let us know. It could mean the difference between life and death,” he added.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are free and confidential. The helpline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

Read the original article People