It absolutely devastates me to hear about how some kids live in utter squalor their entire lives. Kids deserve to grow up in clean, cared-for environments and have their every physical and emotional need met by the adults responsible for them. Living any other way is a pretty unfathomable, but as it turns out, a diagnosable condition sometimes “causes” it. Evidently, Diogenes syndrome is responsible for some such instances.
According to Baptist Health, Diogenes syndrome is a behavioral-health condition that is characterized by poor personal hygiene with people hoarding and staying in unkempt living conditions.
There are two forms of the syndrome: primary and secondary. “Primary Diogenes refers to individuals displaying symptoms with no further evidence of a mental-health condition,” the website defines. “Secondary Diogenes manifests in conjunction with one or more mental-health conditions and may be either a cause or an effect of those conditions. Diagnoses are split about evenly between these two forms.”
I think deputies from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia would agree that Mackenzie Zoriah Whitfield, 24, and Anthony Clark Jr., 24, each have some form of this disease after discovering the conditions they and their three kids were living in. Authorities were dispatched to their apartment in Augusta to deliver an eviction notice, and that’s when they made the gruesome discovery, according to Law & Crime.
Upon arrival, deputies claimed the smell of urine hit them immediately, and as they walked through the apartment they discovered floors were full of human waste, rotten food, and general trash, the outlet reported. Dead and living bugs were everywhere, and hardly any edible food was available. And then they learned the most upsetting thing of all: The couple had three children living there too.
In court documents obtained by The Augusta Press, a 3-month-old boy, a 1-year-old girl, and a 3-year-old boy all showed signs of extreme neglect. The documents detail a pretty harrowing scene. The 3-month-old, whom Clark was not the biological father of, was found with a flattened head, lying in soiled bedding, and covered in sores. He allegedly cried when officers moved him. Officers also observed the 3-year-old boy was covered in dried feces and recently had a circumcision that appeared to be severely infected.
“The residence was in unbearable living conditions,” a deputy wrote in the report.
According to WRDW, the children were assessed by EMS and taken into custody by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, which has all three children. The parents were arrested and each charged with three counts of child abuse, while Whitfield also was charged with violating his parole. No court dates have been released thus far.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
