Dead babies, foetus found among faeces at rat-infested 'house of horror'
A mother charged with murdering two infant children has broken down in a US court after a judge heard about the horrific conditions at her rat-infested home where the corpses of two babies and a foetus were discovered.
The dead infants, as well as four other living children, were found in her maggot and rat-infested home in Blackstone, Massachusetts, in September 2014.
American woman Erika Murray, 35, is charged with two counts of murder and other charges of neglect over the grisly discovery. The trial got underway this week in a case that has shocked the country.
A “horrified” neighbour called authorities after a 10-year-old boy who lived at the squalid home asked for help in getting a baby to stop crying.
When authorities arrived on the scene they found two dead infants and a foetus stuffed in bedroom closets among piles of garbage and faeces.
The small residence was filled with rubbish including dirty nappies, rotting food, maggots and broken furniture in what local media has dubbed the “house of horror”.
Police found faeces covered toddler
At the time, Murray was also responsible for four other children. Her two oldest children, a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy, went to school and had friends. Her two youngest, a 3-year-old girl and 5-month-old girl, were hidden in upstairs bedrooms in the filthy home.
Authorities said when they found the 3-year-old toddler she was covered in faeces amid slum-like conditions.
The neighbour who alerted police, Betsy Brown, had a son who was friends with Murray’s eldest boy. During witness testimony she explained when she entered the home it was very hot, there was no light and sheets covered the windows.
According to The Boston Herald, when city officials interviewed Murray after the discovery in 2014 she remained calm and said she was embarrassed by the new births and didn’t want to tell the other children about them.
She reportedly told the older kids she was babysitting them for a woman she created a fake Facebook account for and referred to the three-year-old as “it”.
While she showed little emotion, her live-in boyfriend Raymond Rivera, the father of all seven children, was visibly distressed and sobbed.
‘Dirty diapers, fleas and maggots’
As the trial got under way this week nearly five years on, defence lawyer Keith Halpern said there is no evidence his client committed a crime.
Murray showed a rare emotion and broke down crying when shown photos of her younger children grown up after being rescued by authorities, according to reporters in the court room.
Prosecutor Christopher Hodgens said Murray’s neglect caused the baby’s deaths. He said Murray created “two different worlds for her children: a world of the wanted and a world of the unwanted.”
Speaking in court, Ms Brown described the horrific state of the home and how it was filled with “dirty diapers, fleas and maggots,” The Daily Mail reported.
“Horrible rotting food. Dirty diapers, lots of dirty diapers, baby bottles, maggots everywhere. It was really dark and hot. It was horrible,” neighbour Betsy Brown told the court.”
“It was the worst smell I had ever smelt.”
The home has since been torn down after it was condemned.
With AP
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
