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Following a months-long investigation, a Mesa couple was arrested after police discovered their three younger daughters weren’t attending faculty and residing with out sufficient meals or operating water.
In February, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Workplace deputies responded to an nameless name that three women have been going to their neighbor’s home for meals and water. Officers entered the house close to 96th Avenue and Broadway Street and located trash and particles all through the home and discovered there was no operating water. The women additionally regarded soiled, in line with arrest paperwork, suggesting to officers that they hadn’t been bathed in a while.
Investigators from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Workplace Particular Victims’ Unit interviewed the mother and father and youngsters, in line with arrest paperwork.
Katrina Ann Johnson, 39, the mom of the women, admitted that permitting her youngsters to dwell within the dwelling’s circumstances was neglectful however that she and the kids’s father had no different choices, in line with arrest paperwork.
Division of Financial Safety information requested by investigators confirmed each mother and father had been unemployed since late 2020, arrest paperwork mentioned.
The lack of operating water, Johnson mentioned, was as a result of the home had preexisting fines which prevented the water from being turned again on. However, when officers contacted the Metropolis of Mesa for info on the preexisting fines, officers mentioned the town would not maintain fines from earlier account holders towards new account holders, in accordance to arrest paperwork.
Johnson informed investigators she routinely fed the women, took them to their paternal grandmother’s home just a few occasions per week to wash and had enrolled them in on-line faculty. The youngsters’s father, 39-year-old Brandon Edwards, deviated from this assertion when he informed investigators Johnson herself homeschooled the women, arrest paperwork mentioned. Johnson additionally claimed she was within the technique of getting meals stamps and within the meantime frequented a close-by meals financial institution.
Two of the women informed investigators that they had meals within the dwelling and that they attended faculty on-line. One among them, nevertheless, mentioned she was typically hungry as a result of her mother and father could not afford to purchase meals and that her older sister would go to the neighbor’s home for meals and water, arrest paperwork mentioned. The women have been discovered to be underweight after they have been taken into the Division of Baby Security’s custody.
Arrest paperwork acknowledged that investigators found the women had been dropped from their on-line programs due to ten consecutive absences. Information from the Arizona Division of Training obtained by investigators confirmed that one of many women had by no means been enrolled in any Arizona faculty, arrest paperwork mentioned. Elementary faculty experiences later given to investigators reported that the 2 who had been enrolled beforehand had suffered academic delays. Johnson mentioned “unhealthy selections and even pure laziness” have been the explanations behind neglecting to enroll her youngsters in class.
A second search of the house discovered extreme quantities of trash, nonetheless no operating water, little to no meals and a bathroom filled with human feces.
Officers additionally spoke with Johnson’s mom, who mentioned she had given her daughter greater than $2,000 since November of final 12 months. Arrest paperwork mentioned she had been informed the cash was for lease, utilities, automobile repairs and meals.
Discussions investigators had with the house’s property supervisor discovered that the couple had by no means paid lease. When investigators confronted Johnson with this info, she admitted she used the cash to buy medication. Edwards’ mom had additionally provided to have the women keep along with her, however Johnson and Edwards declined.
Each Edwards and Johnson have been arrested on Monday on three counts of kid abuse and three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Attain felony justice reporter Gloria Rebecca Gomez at grgomez@gannett.com or on Twitter @glorihuh.
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