Tuesday, October 8th 2024, 5:20 pm
Tulsa County Deputies arrest a Turley couple for child neglect after deputies say the couple's two grandchildren were living in complete filth.
Investigators say Michael and Elizabeth Fisher's home was filled with trash, feces, spoiled food, and roaches.
"You can't fathom an animal living like that, much less a human,” said Deputy Richie Gonzales with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators say these living conditions are beyond deplorable. They say there hasn't been running water in the house for at least five years. Deputies say the couple's 10 and 12-year-old grandchildren have been living there for more than a year.
"It literally looked like somebody took a city dump and dumped it on that property and dumped it into the trailer,” said Gonzales. "There was dog feces on the floor in the house, there was trash stacked so high and garbage that the pathways were very narrow just to get from one end of the residence to the other."
Deputies say there were dirty clothes and dishes everywhere, the refrigerator was filled with old food and cockroaches and there was no water to use the bathroom or bathtub.
Deputy Gonzales was investigating allegations of abuse of Fisher's son, who is a vulnerable adult, and when deputies searched the house because of that case, they found the two children living there too.
"Your grandchildren are children, and it seemed like the animals were better fed. There was dog feces on the floor,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales learned there was an open DHS investigation, but says when DHS workers tried to go to the home, they weren't allowed inside.
He's glad deputies rescued the kids, but says that doesn't make cases like this, any easier.
"What happened in that home to those children is all of our responsibility. It belongs to all of us as a community. I think that as we see what's occurring, it's being cognitive of your neighbors, be cognitive of those at school if you are a school official,” said Gonzales.
Both Elizabeth and Michael Fisher are in the Tulsa County jail for child neglect. Deputies say the children are safe with a family friend.
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