Background: The Onyx apartments in Augusta, Ga. (Google Maps). Insets (left to right): Mackenzie Zoriah Whitfield and Anthony Clark Jr. (Richmond County Sheriff”s Office).
Sheriff’s deputies in Georgia went to a couple’s apartment to carry out an eviction and found the condition of the home to be “unbearable.”
Mackenzie Zoriah Whitfield and Anthony Clark Jr., both 24, were charged with three counts of cruelty to children after police said they found three young children, including a 3-month-old baby, living in deplorable conditions inside their apartment in Augusta, Georgia. Deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office said they showed up at the couple’s apartment at The Onyx to evict Whitfield and Clark, but when they got inside, they immediately smelled urine and feces.
As the deputies walked throughout the apartment, they allegedly found the floors stained with human waste, trash, and rotten food.
According to court documents obtained by The Augusta Press, all three children — a 3-month-old boy, a 1-year-old girl, and a 3-year-old boy — showed signs of neglect. The 3-month-old boy reportedly had a flattened area on his head and a rash and was found in severely soiled bedding. Deputies said he cried out while they cleaned him up.
Deputies said the 3-year-old boy reportedly had a recent circumcision that became infected, according to The Augusta Press. The little boy’s legs were covered with dried feces. According to one deputy on the scene, “The residence was in unbearable living conditions.”
As the deputies searched the home, they reportedly observed live and dead bugs, dirty diapers, stained mattresses, and overflowing trash bins. There was a limited amount of edible food in the home and a few canned goods. Deputies said they found a stained mattress in the master bedroom, and one of the children was reportedly sleeping on the floor and did not have a bed.
Deputies said Clark was the father of Whitfield’s two older children, but not the 3-month-old boy. All three children were taken into the custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
Whitfield and Clark were both arrested and charged with three counts of cruelty to children. Whitfield was also charged with a parole violation. Both are in custody at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center. Court dates for both suspects were not available.
