'It takes a lot to shock law enforcement': Deputy reacts to Booneville child endangerment case
A Booneville couple faces child endangerment charges after authorities found six children living in filthy conditions.
A Booneville couple faces child endangerment charges after authorities found six children living in filthy conditions.
A Booneville couple faces child endangerment charges after authorities found six children living in filthy conditions.
A Dallas County couple faces multiple counts of child endangerment after authorities found six children living in allegedly filthy conditions.
"It takes a lot to shock law enforcement, just with the nature of their job and everything. And this definitely did," Dallas County chief deputy Brett Maxwell said of the case involving Jacob Mitchell and Ariel Paul.
Dallas County deputies conducted a welfare check Sept. 30 on children living in the Booneville trailer at the Prairie Village mobile home park where the couple had lived for about six weeks. They discovered feces, urine, and trash throughout the home, according to court documents.
Some of the six children, ranging from 11 months to 13 years old, were found with feces on their feet and legs, those documents said.
Mitchell, 34, and Paul, 32, were each charged with six counts of child endangerment. The children were removed from the home and placed in foster care.
"It's just the age-old slogan to see something, say something. If there's something suspicious, something that just doesn't add up to you. Just give us a call and we'll go check it out," Maxwell emphasized.
"That breaks my heart, especially for those kids," said Kole Critchlow, a neighbor at the mobile home park. "This is jaw-dropping right now. You know what I mean? Like to leave your kids like that, to have that many animals and not clean up your home is kind of ... absurd to me."