Women Charged After Leaving 6 Young Children in ‘Filth and Squalor,’ 1-Year-Old Was So Hungry He Ate Feces

Two roommates in Texas are being charged with felony child endangerment after six small children were found to be living in abhorrent conditions.

As reported by KPRC, Riccy Padilla-Hernandez, 28, and Yures Molina, 34, were arrested by Houston police after their kids were found to be living in complete “filth and squalor.” Investigators discovered the children, who were infested with lice, after a maintenance man at the apartment complex found Padilla-Hernandez’s 2-year-old daughter wandering around the swimming pool barefoot with no parental supervision. He called the police when he saw how dirty she was.

When police arrived, the toddler’s 7-year-old brother led authorities to the shared apartment complex. All six children ranged between the ages of one to nine and while it remains unclear whether the two women were friends or relatives, authorities discovered a traumatizing scene once they entered the home. Molina’s 1-year-old son was severely malnourished in his crib, so starved for food that he had eaten his own feces, and one of Padilla-Hernandez’s kids had special needs that hindered his ability to care for himself. While Molina was not home when authorities arrived, Padilla-Hernandez returned during their investigation and said her absence was due to her “doing her taxes.”

The bond for both mothers was set at $15,000 each. As of Friday, Padilla-Hernandez and Molina—who is seven months pregnant—had both posted bond, and they appeared in court on Monday. All the children have been placed with child protective services.

“It break my heart because…” a neighbor said to KPRC before pausing. “Poor babies, poor babies.”