Inset, left to right: Jordan Wilson, Melissa Keal, and John Keal (Putnam County Sheriff's Office).
Four adults in Florida are accused of forcing a child to live in what authorities described as a "house of horrors," where investigators allegedly found animal feces and urine covering the floors, swarms of flies surrounding the child's filthy mattress, mold, rotting floors and barely enough food for those living in the home.
Jordan Tyler Wilson, 30, Melissa Keal, 50, and John Keal, 52, were arrested this week on one count each of child neglect after detectives searched the residence, court records show.
The arrests come about a week after 26-year-old Jodie Cannon — who also lived at the home — was charged with aggravated child neglect with great bodily harm and child neglect after investigators alleged her 6-week-old infant suffered severe medical neglect.
According to Wilson's arrest affidavit, detectives with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office and members of the agency's SWAT team executed a search warrant on Tuesday at the home on Nettles Road after receiving information from the Florida Department of Children and Families and other sources alleging that a child living there was being neglected and that the residence itself posed structural safety hazards.
When investigators entered the home, they immediately detected a "strong odor of animal urine" coming from inside, the affidavit states.
The living room — where Melissa and John Keal allegedly slept on couches and a juvenile slept on a "filthy mattress on the floor" — was infested with flies, according to investigators.
"There was an infestation of flies not only in the living room, but also in the kitchen and hallway," the affidavit states. "The flies were also swarming the area where the juvenile was sleeping."
Detectives alleged they found animal feces and urine throughout the home, including fresh feces near the washer and dryer, surrounded by another swarm of flies. The kitchen sink allegedly contained large amounts of dirty pots and pans that "had not been cleaned for a large amount of time," while leaking plumbing had caused the floor beneath the sink to rot and develop mold.
Investigators also described patched ceiling repairs that code enforcement officials determined were structurally unsound and had been painted over despite visible mold. The home's only usable bathroom was allegedly in disrepair, with additional rotting floors caused by water damage.
Wilson's bedroom was allegedly "in cluttered, deplorable conditions," with flies and cockroaches throughout the room and used dinner dishes left sitting for an unknown period of time, according to the affidavit.
The home's refrigerator allegedly contained "barely enough food for all four people to eat" and emitted such a foul odor that it "almost made a SWAT team member vomit," investigators wrote. A second freezer was empty and also smelled strongly.
After completing the inspection, Putnam County Code Enforcement posted an orange placard declaring the residence an unsafe structure that could not be occupied. A DCF investigator then removed a juvenile from the home because of the alleged neglect, according to the affidavit.
The affidavits state that prosecutors with the State Attorney's Office determined there was probable cause to charge the adults with child neglect.
The investigation began earlier this month after Cannon's 6-week-old infant was reportedly hospitalized with what authorities described as life-threatening medical neglect. Deputies later obtained the search warrant for the residence, where Cannon lived with her children, Wilson, Melissa and John Keal, and another child. Following the search, DCF removed the remaining children from the home, and investigators have said additional neglect charges involving other children remain possible.
Putnam County Sheriff H.D. "Gator" DeLoach said the conditions investigators found were unlike anything they had expected.
"Words cannot describe the house of horrors these children were living in," DeLoach said. "Animal feces and urine everywhere, black mold, flies – small children trying to navigate hazardous flooring conditions – and the sad part is they have grown around all of this, not knowing they were dealt the absolute worst conditions I can imagine living in a First World country."
He added, "I applaud those who have stepped up to show these young children what a safe home, family and love should look like. The children and the foster parents caring for them have a long road ahead of them."
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