BAY COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — Authorities arrested three people after finding two young children locked in a “filthy” room with no access to heating or a bathroom.
According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, on Dec. 1, deputies responded to a home on Terrell Street, where two victims, ages 4 and 5, “were yelling out of a broken window, begging for help.” The children reportedly told neighbors they had been locked in their bedroom and had to use the restroom.
Deputies located the children “hanging out of a window of the house,” and the young boy said he needed to use the bathroom, but the door was locked. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies entered and noticed a strong odor of urine and feces in the room. A steel cable was allegedly wrapped around the door handle from the outside, preventing the victims from leaving.
Authorities observed a dirt-covered bed without sheets, as well as three blankets and one pillow on the floor that was also covered in dirt. A piece of wood was reportedly used to cover a broken window, and deputies found broken toys, trash that appeared to have been there for an extended period of time, and cockroaches throughout the room.
A child protective team interviewed the children, who said they had to stay in their bedroom all night, and they weren’t allowed to use a bathroom. Officials asked about the victims being cold, and the 5-year-old boy said he was “freezing,” and “his lips were cold.” There was reportedly no heating in the house.
Authorities spoke with their parents, 27-year-old Kathy Merrill and 31-year-old John Merrill, and they claimed the children were locked in the room until they wake up. The mother also reportedly said she knew about the trash in the room but “did not have the energy to clean.” John Merrill and Kathy Merrill allegedly said they “have been trying to teach the kids to clean their room,” and they admitted they have been locking the kids in their bedroom at night since 2023.
The children’s paternal grandfather, 73-year-old Michael Beaubien, also reportedly lived in the home and knew about the living conditions and locked door.
Deputies arrested Kathy Merrill and John Merrill on two counts of child neglect, and Beaubien was charged with failure to report child neglect.
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