Woman Charged After Police Discover Filthy House

ROACHDALE, Ind. -- Officials are describing a Putnam County home, where four children have been living, as "unfit for human habitation."

Kristina Whitaker is charged with neglect. Investigators said that when they went into the house, cockroaches were everywhere and a rat was on the kitchen counter.

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Images: Filthy House (Warning: Some Images Disturbing)

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"What the pictures don't tell you is the odor. The odor knocks you over when you walk into the house," Putnam County prosecutor Tim Bookwalter said. The other thing that kind of amazes you -- as you're walking, your kind of hearing crunching sounds and that turns out that's cockroaches you're stepping on."

Bookwalter said he's never seen anything like it. Rooms were littered with trash. A refrigerator was filled with rotting food. The bathroom was horribly unkept.

"Used toilet paper was stacked up probably 5 to 6 foot tall," Putnam County deputy sheriff Crag Sibbitt said.

The deputy was called to the house on Monday when the grandmother who lives in the home called 911 about a missing child. The child turned up in the backyard, but the deputy quickly realized there was still a problem. He called Child Protective Services.

Investigators said they found a wild raccoon in a bedroom and a rat running across the kitchen counter.

Police arrested Whitaker on charges of neglect and booked her in the Putnam County jail. Neighbors RTV6 talked to had very little compassion for Whitaker, but worried about her four kids.

"I don't see how any mother can want their kids to be around that. I mean, we teach kids don't pick up something that is falling on the floor. It's dirty. Everything they have is that way," Emily Hanks said.

"That is totally disgusting. She needs to be locked up for quite awhile and not get her kids back. She doesn't deserve them back," neighbor Rachel Clonce said.

Whitaker was released on bond. If convicted, she could face 12 years behind bars.

The health department has closed up the house. Despite the filth, authorities said the children appeared clean and in good health. RTV6 was told the children are now staying with their aunt.