ATLANTA, Georgia – A domestic dispute between two brothers brought police to the home of James and Anne Cardona. They were not prepared for what they found.
Police discovered a five-year-old girl weighing nearly 160 pounds, her teeth rotting, her skin covered in spider bites, while her four-year-old sister was lying on a filthy mattress, wearing only a urine-soaked diaper.
They called in child abuse investigators, and ultimately arrested the parents, James and Anne Cardona, charging both with second-degree child cruelty, Cobb County police spokesman Joe Hernandez said.
The children are now in the state custody. Their parents were released on bond, but Anne Cardona was arrested again for giving “misleading information” to a magistrate judge at the couple’s first court appearance. She was later released on bond.
According to the arrest warrants for the Cardonas, the house “stunk of urine and mould”. It is “infested with roaches, [fleas], cobwebs and gigantic spiders”, the documents said. The bathroom and shower are covered in black mould and dirt, they said.
Not in school
Neither girl is enrolled in school. Both are severely obese. The older daughter, who weighs 158 pounds, could not walk ten feet without “becoming out of breath and wheezing”, officers said. The younger child weighs 89 pounds and still drinks from a baby bottle. Her feet were blackened with dirt, her skin also covered in insect bites.
Asked by CNN affiliate WSB-TV last Thursday whether the children were mistreated at the home, Anne Cardona said no.
“A situation like this is tragic – tragic for the family, but mostly for the kids,” said Normer Adams, executive director of the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children, a trade group representing a range of agencies, including foster homes and family support programmes.
“This is an extreme case of neglect by the parents,” he said. “These kids are hurting on many levels – certainly educational development, and probably social development.”
Cobb County Animal Control is also involved in this tragic case of abuse. While saying there were no signs of animal abuse, they did remove five dogs, two cats, nine birds and two turtles from the disgusting home. All 18 creatures were living inside the house.
Adams said it was unlikely that the Cardonas would be able to regain custody of their children, saying it was “too late” for the family to avoid foster care. (CNN)