Insets, from left: Amy Nichols, Robert Ransdell and Matthew Hardin (Jessamine County Detention Center). Background: Harrodsburg, Kentucky, street where cops allegedly found three kids living in squalor (Google Maps).
Kentucky authorities arrested three people after cops said they discovered children and a disabled adult living in conditions officers described as the worst they’ve ever seen.
Amy Nichols, 30, stands accused of child abuse, knowingly neglecting a disabled adult and animal cruelty. Robert Ransdell, 38, and Matthew Hardin, 26, are facing charges of child abuse and complicity to neglecting a disabled adult and animal cruelty.
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.
“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.
