An Oregon woman was taken into custody recently after authorities discovered her 11-year-old son, who has developmental challenges and is non-verbal, left alone in a home overwhelmed by filth. The residence was littered with excrement, decaying garbage, and heaps of clothes and trash.
Ruby Itzayana Godina-Velador, 32, faces three charges of criminal mistreatment, as per reports from KATU.
The incident came to light when authorities were alerted to the boy’s absence from school and the fact that his 9-year-old sibling was not picked up after school. A concerned family member requested a welfare check, but no one responded at the residence. This led the family member to file a missing persons report, detailed in court documents and reported by KOIN.
Subsequently, a neighbor reported hearing the child moving around inside the apartment. When police arrived for the second time and received no response at the door, they made an emergency entry into the home.
Inside, officers encountered a distressing scene with feces smeared across the walls, floors, and an air conditioning unit. The stench of urine, feces, and rotten waste permeated the air.
The boy was found sitting unclothed on a couch, engrossed in videos on a phone. His mother was not present with him but was located in another room, also partially unclothed.
Police said Godina-Velador got dressed and was taken into custody. She was later released on her own recognizance but failed to appear at her arraignment on Wednesday.
According to KGW, she missed a second court hearing, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
It’s unclear where either of the children are now.
