Left to right: Jessica Blair, Joshua Foster (Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office).
An Idaho mother and father are accused of making their 3-year-old son spend his days inside of an abandoned vehicle behind their home propped up in a car seat, leading to severe rashes and poor hygiene.
Jessica Blair, 35, and Joshua Foster, 35, were charged with felony injury to a child after cops visited their residence in Idaho Falls and allegedly found the young victim inside of a car with a person who was not related to them. The individual said the parents‘ daily routine involved placing the toddler in a car seat inside the vehicle, according to court documents obtained by East Idaho News.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare called police to the couple’s home on Jan. 29 after an investigation revealed that Blair and Foster were living in filth and squalor, while keeping their son in a car seat inside the abandoned vehicle for days on end.
Asked by cops where their son was, the couple allegedly told them, “In the car,” according to East Idaho News. Police say an extension cord was spotted running from the vehicle to the home, with a space heater plugged into it and located inside the car. A dog was allegedly spotted walking and stepping on the child.
Authorities went inside Blair and Foster’s home and allegedly found horrid living conditions, including large piles of feces, urine, trash, rotten food, bug infestations, thick layers of dirt, and cigarette butts scattered everywhere. Their son’s bedroom had been turned into a living space for six pets, with animal and dog beds found inside surrounded by feces and puddles of urine, cops say.
The child, meanwhile, allegedly had a soaking wet T-shirt on and his diaper was said to have been falling apart. Police believe he had been wearing the same diaper for multiple days; the boy had severe rashes on his groin and inner thighs from sitting in the car seat for long periods of time, according to court documents.
The car seat that the boy was allegedly found in was also wet and severely stained. The child was reportedly removed from the home by workers with the IDHW. Weeks later, on April 9, investigators returned to Blair and Foster’s home to see if they had improved the living conditions in an attempt to regain custody.
Police say there were more feces on the floor than the prior visit, and there were even more animals inside the home, which had no power. Court records show that at least 33 animals have been removed from the couple’s possession in the past.
Blair and Foster are facing animal cruelty charges in addition to the child injury charge, according to records viewed by Law&Crime. They’re both scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 1.
