Insets, from left: Amy Nichols, Robert Ransdell, and Matthew Hardin (Jessamine County Detention Center). Background: Harrodsburg, Kentucky, street where officers allegedly found three minors living in filth (Google Maps).
Authorities in Kentucky apprehended three individuals after police reported finding children and a disabled adult in what they described as extremely deplorable living conditions.
Amy Nichols, 30, is charged with child abuse, willful neglect of a disabled adult, and animal cruelty. Robert Ransdell, 38, and Matthew Hardin, 26, face accusations of child abuse, complicity in neglecting a disabled adult, and animal cruelty.
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According to arrest citations obtained by local CBS affiliate WKYT and Fox affiliate WDKY, cops responded on June 10 to a home in Harrodsburg, which is some 30 miles southwest of Lexington, as part of a child neglect investigation. Three children under the age of 12, along with a disadvantaged adult who has the mental capacity of a sixth grader, were living in the home, police said.
When cops walked inside, they were met with a strong odor of feces and ammonia, the citation reportedly said.
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“The floor was covered in feces and all surfaces were covered in garbage such as rotten food,” cops wrote. “The refrigerator had a lock hanging from it and contained rotten food and cockroaches and none of the food I observed in the house was safe to eat.”
One of the kids reportedly said they had not had lunch or dinner and had only eaten cereal.
There were three dogs and five cats living in the home, as well, police said.
Cops deemed the home uninhabitable because it posed a risk of serious illness or death to anyone who lived inside, the citations reportedly said. Officers said it was the worst condition they’ve ever seen inside a home.
All three suspects remain at the Jessamine County Jail without bond. They have a court date scheduled for June 26.
