Inset: Krystal Farmer (Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office). Background: Body camera footage from Farmer’s home in Flint, Mich. (Flint Township Police Department).
A Michigan mother has admitted to leaving her two young children alone in a severely neglected home, though her guilty plea reportedly includes an option to reconsider depending on the sentence she receives.
Krystal Farmer, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of child abandonment, four counts of child abuse and one count of lying to police. The charges followed a February welfare check at her Flint-area residence. Officers found Farmer’s two sons, ages 3 and 4, alone inside. Both children have special needs. Body camera video released by police showed garbage scattered throughout the house, human waste smeared across the walls and one child eating what officers described as “raw, spoiled meat.” The other child was discovered hiding on the floor of a bedroom.
Farmer entered guilty pleas to all seven charges Monday. However, local ABC affiliate WJRT reported that she may be able to withdraw those pleas if she objects to the sentence imposed by the court.
Police said the debris on the floor was piled so high that officers “couldn’t take a normal step.” A faucet had been left running, causing water to spill across the floor. Authorities described the residence as a place that had been “reduced to survival conditions.”
In a Facebook statement, Flint police said the children were “now safe,” crediting a neighbor who “spoke up” and requested help.
Farmer is scheduled to appear for sentencing on Oct. 19.
The story, originally published by Law & Crime, concerns a mother whose two children were found eating “raw, spoiled meat” after reportedly being left alone for days.
