Woman charged with neglect after children found alone

Monday, March 5, 2007

Woman charged with neglect after children found alone

by Fred Lewis | Staff Writer

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When New Carrollton Police entered the basement apartment of a house in the 7600 block of Topton Street on Sunday, officers found five children living in squalid conditions that Sgt. Richard Hartnett called ‘‘the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.”

The children, ranging in age from 6 months to 6 years, were alone in the apartment on a bed that smelled of urine and feces. A medium-sized dog was chained in the living room area amid its own urine and feces.

Officers saw ‘‘food rotting, with bugs all in it,” Hartnett said, and an unattended pan of food was burning on the stove.

The children’s mother, Amara N. Eden, 31, was still at work in Washington, D.C., when police responded to the call for child neglect about 12:30 a.m. She was called and notified of the situation, and returned to the house about 1:45 a.m., according to charging documents filed in District Court. Police then charged her with five counts of leaving a child younger than age 8 unattended and two counts of animal cruelty.

Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department staff determined all five children required medical attention, including the youngest, a 6-month-old with cystic fibrosis.

A caseworker from the Department of Protective Services responded and stayed with the children as they were evaluated at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly. She determined that because of their ages and the conditions in which they live the children had to be removed from the apartment and placed in temporary emergency shelter, charging documents stated. The Division of Animal Control took custody of the dog.

Hartnett said police could smell the apartment as soon as they got out of their cruisers to approach the house. Once inside, the stench was so intense ‘‘we had to cover our noses up,” he said.

‘‘I’ve been in some run down places over the 25 years I’ve been in law enforcement, but I’ve never been in one that bad with people living in it,” Hartnett said, describing ‘‘filth and bugs and feces and urine on the floors, carpeting and walls.”

Hartnett said the landlord, who made the initial call to police, told officers that Eden has rented the apartment for about two years. The landlord said Eden works 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. several nights a week and leaves the children unattended, according to charging documents.