Background: The Tygart Valley Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Belington, West Virginia (Tygart Valley Regional Jail and Correctional Facility). Insets (from left to right): James Dillow and Acacia Dillow (West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A man and woman were arrested in West Virginia after authorities allegedly discovered their four children were living in filth — with bugs reportedly circling old food and dirty diapers seen throughout the home.
James Dillow, 33, and Acacia Dillow, 29, have each been charged with four counts of gross neglect of a child creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. They are each being held on $75,000 bail in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail and Correctional Facility.
On the night of Oct. 1, West Virginia State Police officials were asked to do a welfare check at a home in Barbour County, West Virginia. It was suspected that a 10-year-old boy was alone at the residence.
A trooper went to the address and met with the child, who said his parents had left the home about six hours earlier and taken his three siblings — ages 6, 5 and 3 — along with them, local CBS affiliate WDTV reported. He had not eaten dinner, except for a Lunchables meal that was in the refrigerator, according to authorities.
Inside the home was a foul smell, according to the trooper, who also reported seeing old food covered in bugs, dirty diapers and stained children's mattresses without sheets. There was also allegedly a glass smoking item and a grinder with marijuana in it in an area that the kids could access.
The Barbour County Sheriff's Office was also contacted, and after authorities got a search warrant, they searched the home again. Officers reportedly found additional glass smoking devices and containers carrying what was believed to be THC wax, per the area TV station.
A state childcare worker also helped law enforcement, and the 10-year-old was taken to a different family member's home. It is unclear where the other three children are.
James and Acacia Dillow are due in court for a preliminary hearing on Friday.
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