The home in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where children were reportedly found living in dangerous conditions (WTAE/YouTube).
A Pennsylvania mother has confessed to neglecting her children, leaving them in deplorable conditions while she pursued a “new and better life without them.”
Heidi Beer, 35, entered a guilty plea in October, facing charges that include five counts each of child endangerment and reckless endangerment, along with making false reports, according to court records from Westmoreland County. Her sentencing is scheduled for December 19.
Both Beer and her 69-year-old mother, Leslie Ann Keller, were taken into custody on July 28 after police in Vandergrift Borough responded to a disturbance at a residence. The scene they encountered was appalling.
A foul odor greeted officers as they arrived, and upon entering the home, they had to navigate around large piles of feces, spoiled food, and pools of urine across the floors, as detailed in a criminal complaint accessed by Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate WTAE. Inside were four children, aged 9 to 16, with the eldest informing the police that their mother had been absent for several days.
The children reportedly had no water, with the shower spigot having been broken off. “It was very obvious that water had not been on in a long time,” the affidavit stated, adding that the children”s beds were observed to be deflated air mattresses, and there were holes in the ceiling across the home.
Authorities noted that Beer was not the sole guardian of the children. Their grandmother, Keller, lived roughly a mile away and was reportedly aware of the dire lack of food and water at Beer’s residence. One child mentioned that Keller hadn’t visited the home in months due to its filthy state, and it was alleged that she confirmed the children often refilled empty cat litter containers with water at her house because their own lacked running water.
When Keller attempted to blame the 16-year-old girl for the unclean conditions, an officer rebuked her, stating that it was not the “children’s responsibility to clean this absolute disgrace of a mess,” as reported by WTAE.
The children then told authorities where they believed their mom was — living with her boyfriend in Pittsburgh, about a 50-minute drive away, and that he had asked her to leave them behind because he could “give her a new and better life without them.” He was also allegedly abusive to the children.
Beer was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on a $20,000 bond until she posted it on Aug. 13.
Keller was also charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of children; it is unclear if she has submitted a plea. Her next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17.
