12/06/2007
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) A Lubbock couple faces seven counts of child endangerment after police, alerted by a report of a miscarried fetus in the family's refrigerator, found seven children living in a home filled with rat feces, cockroaches and trash.
The Lubbock County Criminal District Attorney's Office filed the charges against Gloria Ramirez and Anthony Moya on Wednesday, alleging that the seven children were in imminent danger of death, bodily injury or physical or mental impairment.
The DA's office did not know if the couple had an attorney. The Associated Press could not find a working phone number for Moya or Ramirez.
The charges came five months after police went to the couple's home to investigate a report of a miscarried fetus. An employee at a funeral home alerted police in July that Moya called to ask about a small casket. According to an affidavit obtained by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Ramirez miscarried July 7, cleaned the fetus and placed it in a box in the refrigerator.
According to court documents, police found the kitchen floor covered in dirty clothes, soiled diapers and trash. Refrigerators in the living room and kitchen contained moldy food and roaches. Rat feces were visible throughout the house, police said.
Some of the children had bug bites and rashes and appeared to be malnourished, according to Child Protective Services.
Six of the children are in foster care and a seventh is with a relative, said Greg Cunningham, a CPS spokesman.
In 1999, the Department of Family and Protective Services removed two children from Ramirez's care. The children were returned in 2000.
The five-month delay between the initial discovery and the filing of charges occurred because of several undisclosed issues that had to be investigated, said Scott Morris, an assistant criminal district attorney. He declined to comment further.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. In the interest of timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain occasional typographical errors. )
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