The four children living in the home have been removed and their parents are now charged with child neglect

NEED TO KNOW

• Detectives with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office rescued a severely neglected and malnourished newborn on July 7; the mother was taken into custody and charged with neglect
• While arresting her at the Florida home, police also removed her two other children from the property but were unable to take a fourth boy because he had a different mother and they did not have enough evidence of neglect at that time
• Authorities said they returned with a search warrant and to rescue the child on July 28, discovering a “house of horrors” filled with flies, rotted floors and animal feces

Authorities in Florida have discovered what they are calling a “house of horrors” where children were sleeping on mattresses swarming with fleas atop feces-covered floors.

The case began on July 7 when detectives from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) were contacted by a caseworker from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) asking to have a baby from the home evaluated after discovering the newborn’s severe diaper rash and weight loss.

The mother of the 6-week-old child, Jodie Danielle Cannon, had previously been contacted by DCF and was asked to take the child to see a doctor but allegedly refused, according to a copy of her arrest report obtained by PEOPLE.

Once detectives arrived at the home in Florahome, Fla., a town located approximately 60 miles south of Jacksonville, they requested that the mother not accompany them with the newborn because of the accusations of neglect.

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At the hospital, the newborn’s vital signs were so weak that doctors determined the infant could have died had the PCSO and DCF not intervened and rescued the baby from the home. Following that determination, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Cannon, 26, on charges of aggravated child neglect with great bodily harm and child neglect.

She was taken to the Putnam County Jail where she is being held on a $35,000 bond; the 6-week-old was placed into the care of DCF after being released from the hospital.

Her other two children were also removed from the home at that time and placed into the care of DCF, according to the arrest report.

After witnessing the state of the home when executing the warrant for Cannon’s arrest and the rescue of the additional children in her custody, the PCSO sought a second warrant to search the home.

That warrant was granted on July 28, and according to the sheriff’s department, it resulted in the arrest of three more adults and the removal of a fourth child from the home.

Detectives said they sought the second warrant largely to remove the fourth child from the home, as they did not have enough evidence of neglectful conditions to do so upon first responding to the home.

The “deplorable living conditions” found inside the residence by detectives included “unsafe ceiling repair, black mold, rotting floors, animal feces throughout the home and flies,” according to the report.

Detectives learned that one child had been sleeping “on a mattress swarming with flies,” according to a release from the PCSO, and noted that there were “patches on the ceiling [that] had visible signs of black mold and were painted over with white paint,” along with “rotted floors in several rooms, including a bathroom” from busted water pipes.

Upon entering one of the bedrooms, detectives noted that there was “uneaten food on dishes along with flies and cockroaches,” per the report.

A separate arrest report for Cannon’s boyfriend, Jordon Wilson, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE, said that as authorities prepared to enter the home a “strong odor of animal urine was emitting from inside the residence.”

Once inside, they also encountered a “strong unhealthy odor coming from inside the refrigerator that almost made a SWAT team member vomit,” the report states.

Those conditions resulted in the arrests of Melissa Keal, 50, John Keal, 52, and Wilson, 30, on child neglect charges.

Wilson is the biological father of the three children who had previously been removed from the home and the son of Melissa, who is married to John.

The fourth child removed from the home on the day of these arrests had been adopted by Melissa but, according to the arrest report, is the biological child of Wilson, who had lost custody following a previous DCF investigation.

Those three were also booked into the Putnam County Jail where they remain in custody, according to arrest records; Wilson is being held on a $2,500 bond, while Melissa and John are both being held on a $3,000 bond.

The PCSO also noted that four dogs and three kittens living in the home have been voluntarily surrendered to Putnam County Animal Services.

“Words cannot describe the house of horrors these children were living,” Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach said in a statement after the arrests. “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.”

DeLoach also applauded the individuals who “stepped up to show these young children what a safe home, family and love should look like,” while also noting that “the children and the foster parents caring for them have a long road ahead of them.”

As for the newborn who was initially rescued from the home, DeLoach said that the child is “thriving, happy and gaining weight.”

All four defendants have made their first appearance in front of a judge, who set their bonds and ordered that if released, they were to have no contact with any of the children.

Court records also show that on Aug. 3, Wilson and the Keals were appointed regional conflict counsel, which occurs when there is a conflict of interest with the public defender’s office.

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