Three adults have been arrested after two young children were rescued from a “bug-infested” and“filthy” home in Florida where they’d been locked in their bedroom every night for months, police say.
Their parents Kathy Merrill, 27, and John Merrill, 31, were both arrested and charged separately with two counts of child neglect, while their paternal grandfather, Michael L Beaubien, 73, was charged for failing to report child neglect, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Tommy Ford said, “Two minor children were discovered in a home, locked in a filthy, bug-infested bedroom with no heating or bathroom facilities.”
The boys, ages 4 and 5, were discovered on Sunday in Panama City, dangling from a broken glass window and screaming for help after being forcibly locked away in a bedroom inside the mobile home.
When Bay County deputies stepped inside the children’s room they witnessed a horrific scene with the pungent odor of feces and urine filling the room.
The room had been secured shut “with a steel cable” entangled around the door handle and secured from the outside. A closer inspection revealed a dirt-soiled mattress, filthy blankets, and a single pillow.
The eldest boy, 5, said he was “freezing” and had lips that were cold to the touch, authorities said.
Cockroaches were spotted along the floor, ceiling, and walls, and old “piles of trash” and “broken toys” were also found at the scene. A dilapidated bedroom window had been patched up with a plank of wood.
The younger boy, 4, told deputies he was desperate to use the bathroom, explaining that he and the older boy had been locked inside — but were usually allowed to leave to use the bathroom.
Now that the children are safe, BCSO Criminal Investigations and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has requested a new home for them.
When police interviewed the boys’ parents, they said their sons had been locked in their bedroom every night since 2023, claiming they were allowed out when the adults were awake. Kathy Merrill said she was too exhausted to clean their bedroom.
Beaubien, aged 73, the two boys’ paternal grandfather, allegedly knew of the horrendous conditions and chose not to intervene. The trio’s records were not available on the Bay County Sheriff’s Office website.
The Independent contacted BCSO for more information.
