DAYTON — There is new information about the children who were found living in an abandoned home on Delphos Avenue in Dayton.
Last Friday, officers removed five children from a boarded-up house with no utilities and no adults.
News Center 7’s Amber Jenkins was at a press conference on Wednesday where Dayton Police said the mother of 8 was struggling.
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Lt. Eric Sheldon said, “This sounds kind of just like a mother of many children basically trying to do the best she can with all these children.”
Investigators are working to provide stability and support for five children and their mother after officers found them living in the abandoned home.
A welfare check turned into a Child Protective Services case. Five children between the ages of 18 and 12 were placed in Montgomery County Children’s Services.
A 15-year-old boy was later placed with Children’s Services, and the youngest, a 4-year-old, was placed in the care of a relative.
According to city property records, no one was supposed to be living in the house. However, police believe the children were living there for about three weeks.
“It sounds like at one point, I don’t know how far back in history the house had belonged to or was run by the mom’s boyfriend’s father, who I think has since passed away. So, they did have some kind of family history in that residence,” Sheldon said.
He went on to say that the mother was in the hospital when officers found the children.
“When she left, the 15-year-old, who later went out to school, was supposed to stay at home and watch the kids. He apparently didn’t get the message or was confused. He went out to school, leaving the other five children there by themselves,” Sheldon said.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing misdemeanor child endangerment charges against the mother.
Authorities said the mother has eight children in total. They said seven of them are under the age of 18. The youngest and a daughter who was at the house when officers arrived are with a relative.
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