Two mums have been charged with abandoning their own children after all six were found living in a home that was full of dirt and lice, reports say.
Yures Molina's one year old baby boy was found so desperately hungry he had began eating his own faeces.
He was found alongside his siblings aged eight and nine and 34-year-old Riccy Padilla-Hernandez's three children aged two, three and seven.
The women were living with their children all under the same roof in Houston, Texas.
The children were discovered on Wednesday after a maintenance worker reported to police that Padilla-Hernandez’s two-year-old daughter was wandering near a pool on the property, police said.
He reported seeing the child was barefoot and appeared unsupervised.
When officers from the Houston Police Department arrived, the girl’s older brother led them to their apartment, where the other four children were found.
According to the police report, 28-year-old Molina’s one-year-old son was found in his crib so hungry that he had eaten his own excrement.
Molina’s nine-year-old son was covered in dirt and infested with lice, officers added.
One of Padilla-Hernandez’s children has special needs and is unable to care for himself, according to investigators.
While officers were responding, Padilla-Hernandez returned to the apartment.
She told police she was “doing her taxes” while she was out, police said.
Molina, who is reportedly seven months pregnant, was not present at the time.
Both women are expected to appear in court later today and all six of the children were placed in the custody of Children’s Protective Services.
