Autumn Witt (Indian River County Jail).
A Florida mother was arrested this week for a number of filthy conditions inside the house where she and her two children live, law enforcement in the Sunshine State says.
Autumn Witt, 22, stands accused of two counts of neglect without great bodily harm, according to the Indian River Sheriff’s Office.
The underlying incident was from a report by a case worker for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) — which contains repeat allegations the defendant herself is being physically abused by an unnamed “paramour” — according to a statement of probable cause.
Acting on that call, which also contained allegations of drug use, a deputy arrived to investigate the situation at the residence on May 20.
The deputy takes stock of the house in the affidavit.
“I was immediately struck by the aroma of garbage as I exited my patrol vehicle,” the narrative reads. “I observed a swarm of flies surrounding the garbage and the front porch area of the house which was littered with empty soda and alcohol containers.”
Witt then greeted the deputy and invited him inside, the court document says.
“I was immediately taken back by an overwhelming stench of urine and feces inside the residence,” the narrative goes on. “Witt stated that there were several cats, a large dog and several lizards living inside the residence and the urine smell was due to her roommates not cleaning up after the animals and also partly due to one of the roommates … urinating on walls inside the home when he is intoxicated.”
The DCF intake form relays similar information about how the two children in the house are affected by the state of things there.
“The home is dirty,” the welfare agent wrote. “The home smells of urine and ammonia. The parents are not cleaning up the cat/dog feces and urine. The parents wash the dishes in the bathtub because the kitchen doesn’t work. The children are unkempt.”
The deputy says he confirmed the inoperability of the sink.
“Witt stated that the kitchen sink has not been operable and they are doing the dishes in the bathroom,” the narrative continues. “I observed the kitchen sink to have several dead roaches inside and what appeared to be some type of mold growing on the inside.”
The temperature inside the house was 82 degrees, the deputy said. Witt, for her part, allegedly said the air conditioner did not work properly and attributed the heat inside to the rising outside temperature.
As for the allegations of drug abuse on her part and suffering physical abuse from her current boyfriend, the defendant denied them both, according to the affidavit, and a follow-up drug test was negative.
The defendant then allegedly relayed a story about finding blood in her daughter’s feces, which prompted a hospital visit. Witt said, however, her daughter had “diarrhea and was vomiting for approximately a week prior to the ER visit,” according to the court document.
The deputy remarked at length on how and what the 3-year-old girl was doing.
“I did not interview [the girl] however I noticed she appeared to not have been bathed recently,” the narrative reads: “[Her] fingernails were black underneath and there were what appeared to be several bug bites on her arms along with scratches that [the girl] stated to [the DCF employee] were from the cat. Witt advised me the bites were from mosquitoes that she scratches and irritates. Witt stated that the bites were present when [the girl] was brought to the ER and nothing was spoken about them. I observed [the girl] playing on the floor with dead bugs and feces while inside the residence.”
The mother allegedly went on to say her “home was in disarray” due to a recent hospital stint of her own for a bacterial infection.
In the end, the mother and children were initially taken to a child welfare center, where the mother was told her children would be temporarily placed in DCF custody unless she brought the house up to requisite health standards or found another living arrangement.
The deputy later secured a warrant; Witt was arrested on May 28.
“Due to the living conditions in the home, the possibility of serious long term health risks associated, and Witt being the caregiver of the children making no efforts to remedy the living conditions despite being home with the children, having no physical disabilities herself, and being hospitalized herself due to a bacterial infection, I believe Witt to have an utter disregard for the children’s welfare,” the law enforcement narrative concludes.
She is currently being detained in the Indian River County Jail on $50,000 bond.
