GLENDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — Authorities say two parents are facing child abuse charges after their children were found living in a feces-covered apartment in Glendale last week.
Arthur Jackson, 41, and Sara Jackson, 36, were taken into custody for the alleged crimes.
WARNING: This story contains graphic details.
On Jan. 29, shortly after 1:30 p.m., Glendale police received a report about a naked child standing in the window at an apartment near 67th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.
Sara reportedly answered the door and went to get the children, two boys ages 4 and 6. Court documents say officers saw Sara cut zip ties off of a gate that was 5-6 feet tall as she went to get the kids from the bedroom.
When officers saw the children, they noted that there were “dried feces” in the 6-year-old’s hair, police said. When officers went inside, they saw flies swarming, an insect infestation and feces on the walls and floors of the living room, according to court documents.
Sara told investigators that there were two 9mm handguns and an AK-47 inside the apartment. Officers found one handgun under a pillow in the bedroom, where the children were playing, police said. Court documents state the “magazine was loaded, and the chamber was empty.”
Court papers say the only bedroom in the apartment was the one the children slept in, covered in feces on the walls, floor and mattress. Officers also noted that the children had no bedding, and the electrical outlets had no covers.
The only bathroom in the apartment was attached to the bedroom, and police discovered that the bathroom doorknob was zip-tied to a screw, “so the children could not use it,” court documents describe.
Both boys were taken to the hospital to be checked out. During a search of the apartment, investigators found food in the fridge and running water, but feces on the living room floor, an insect infestation and a second damaged gate near the front door.
Officers reportedly found a gate that was six feet high secured on the doorway to the only bedroom in the apartment. There were severed zip ties lying on the floor, police said.
“Every surface, including the ceiling and mattress, was covered in smeared feces,” a portion of court documents state.
Authorities cut the zip-ties secured to the bathroom door and found it was dirty, and the sink and shower filled with “various miscellaneous items,” court papers say.
Authorities spoke with Sara, who said both boys are not potty-trained and don’t like to use the porta-potty in the bedroom. She reportedly said they put a gate up in the bedroom because her 6-year-old started “pooping on the floor” and “likes to throw his feces.” She claimed they tried to clean the walls, but “gave up,” court papers say.
Police asked her why she doesn’t clean up the feces, she made comments like “I’m a bad mom sometimes,” “I’m overwhelmed,” and “I don’t have motivation,” according to court documents. She also noted that her husband, Arthur, doesn’t say anything about the condition of the home or the kids.
Neither boy has attended school or been to a doctor since they were born, Sara told police. Authorities say that she also admitted she knows her children sleep on a feces-covered mattress, but she and her husband do not.
When speaking to Arthur, he reportedly told investigators that he “works a lot and doesn’t have time to scrub the apartment.” Police say he acknowledged the feces on the floor and walls, saying it started “around Christmas.”
Court documents state Arthur said while he works up to nine hours a day, six days a week, the kids are in the bedroom with the gate closed. He claimed that he opens the gate when he’s home. However, court papers state Sara told investigators that the boys are locked in the room with the gate closed “24 hours a day, seven days a week,” even when Arthur is home.
Both children are in the custody of the Arizona Department of Child Safety as staff work to find placement for them.
Sara and Arthur were booked on two counts of child abuse each. They are being held on $25,000 bonds apiece.
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