Emaciated dog, neglected children discovered
Venice, FL (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Sep 13, 2011
County: Sarasota

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» James Paul McArdle
» Kristina Lee Reilly

In what ranks among the most shocking child neglect cases they have encountered, sheriff's detectives this week filed additional charges against a Venice couple accused of allowing their children to live in a sewage-flooded home while they abused drugs.

James McArdle, 29, and Kristina Lee Reilly, 26, both of the 300 block of Cowry Road, now face charges of child neglect, cruelty to animals, abandonment of animals and creating unsanitary nuisances injurious to health - in addition to the child neglect and drug paraphernalia charges on which they were arrested last week.

"This is one of the worst cases we've encountered in a long time," Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Wendy Rose said Thursday. "It's unconscionable to most of us."

On Sept. 13, deputies appeared at the couple's home to arrest Reilly on a warrant for failure to appear in court in connection with a larceny case. After appearing at the front door, Reilly reportedly asked to go back into the home to get cigarettes and a cell phone.

After deputies followed her in, they say they were overwhelmed by the stench of feces and rot.

They say they discovered two barely dressed children sleeping on a filthy mattress as well as sewage in the carpet from a backed-up septic tank.

Reilly reportedly told them that the sewage back-up had occurred about a week earlier and that she and McArdle tried to eliminate the overflow by using a bucket to toss the waste into the backyard.

Animal Services investigators took custody of the family's pet dog Buster, which a veterinarian determined to be emaciated and suffering from a urinary tract infection.

In reports, detectives say Reilly and McArdle are addicted to opiates and that they cut back on household expenses, including food for their children and pets, so they could afford drugs.

Addicts often get into a "zombie" state in which they "wake up to feed their habit" and pass out again, neglecting to not only care for others but themselves, Rose said.

A detective interviewed Reilly and McArdle's 6-year-old son, who said his 3-year-old sister would play with syringes in the home and that he often saw white pills among the syringes. He also told them the house had mice, huge spiders and thousands of cockroaches, the report said.

According a report filed by sheriff's detective Kim Northfield, the Florida Department of Children and Families had previous contact with the parents and had offered them day care for the children, food stamps and treatment of their addictions from First Step. Yet the couple tended to be "belligerent and uncooperative" with DCF, Northfield reported.

Rose said she was uncertain when DCF contacted the parents but that when social workers last saw them, the living conditions at the home were not what deputies discovered.

"It's frightening," Rose said.

References

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