Police: Texas Mom Kept Child In Rat-Infested Storage Unit
A Texas mom has been arrested after authorities in Pflugerville say she was found keeping her seven-year-old son in deplorable conditions. KXAN News reports that Carissa Esther Chancey has been charged in association with keeping her child in a rat-infested storage unit, which also contained drugs.
Police say they were called to an apartment complex on Aug. 11, where they discovered the 36-year-old woman in a storage unit on the property. She was reportedly armed with a loaded assault rifle in the unit, which reeked of urine. Police say they also discovered a seven-year-old child on the floor of the storage unit, next to the Texas mom. The child had been sleeping.
Authorities also say that they found syringes and other paraphernalia associated with the use of methamphetamine. They also found multiple rats that had been living in the storage unit with the Texas mom and her child.
While reports aren’t clear on the circumstances, the seven-year-old child had to be taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Police have confirmed, however, that the lad had an infected injury on one of his feet. The boy also told police that he hadn’t eaten in over a day. Police have described the seven-year-old child as being dirty, without shoes, and wearing worn-out clothes.
Man who locked child in dog crate appeals 23 yr sentence, He’s still convicted but will be resentenced.@NewsOn6 pic.twitter.com/gQJ4yMb7hu
— Lori Fullbright (@LoriFullbright) March 11, 2016
She reportedly barricaded the child in the room by pushing a couch and a large dog crate against the door.https://t.co/7x5jZRJPS1
— Kelly Bazzle (@KellyBazzle) August 1, 2016
This isn’t the first time a child has been found living in horrifying conditions. Earlier this year, a 24-year-old Missouri mom was arrested, after her children were found living in a crate in a cave. The four and six-year-old children were discovered dirty and with bare feet in the secured crate, using their hands to eat dry ramen noodles. Bruttany Mugrauer was charged with two counts of felony child endangerment.
Couple ‘locked their six-year-old child in dog cage overnight as punishment’ https://t.co/J2em162GgG pic.twitter.com/b0eCVViHCx
— The Sun (@TheSun) July 26, 2016
Last year, two Georgia women were arrested after two children were found living in cages in their home. The eight and 11-year-old children, described as having special needs, were reportedly “in good health,” but were removed from the home anyway. Police believe that the kids were kept in cages for more than a year.
Brian, Shannon Gore Guilty Of Keeping Daughter In Cage For Years http://t.co/DgDwKfVouF via @HuffPostCrime
— #stopchildabuse (@helpspreadthis) April 3, 2013
In 2013, a five-year-old girl was found living in a cage in a mobile home in Virginia. The conditions in which this child was kept were so deplorable that both parents were charged and convicted of aggravated malicious wounding and child abuse. Police say that the little girl was so badly malnourished, that she had resorted to cannibalizing herself to survive.
Police say she used a small sofa and a large dog crate to keep the child in the room while she was gone. https://t.co/sNp7tsd3sA
— Anon Against Abuse (@1AAICAA) August 1, 2016
As for Texas mom Carissa Esther Chancey, she’s been charged with abandoning and endangering a child. She’s also been charged with possession of a controlled substance. Currently, she’s being held in jail on bond in the amount of $40,000. Meanwhile, her child has been removed from her custody. This also isn’t the first time the Texas mom has been in trouble with the law. She was released from prison in 2011 after she was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. It seems that old habits truly do die hard.
[Mugshot via Pflugerville Police]
