Mom Left Kids in Terrible Conditions Alone After Falling Asleep at a Friend's House, Police Say

A mother in Louisiana allegedly left her children in a feces-covered apartment—complete with soiled diapers, a “bucket of urine,” and other inhumane conditions—to fend for themselves while she went out to “pick up food” and meet up with a “friend” at 2 a.m., according to police.

Daionjanee Young, 25, of Lake Charles, has been charged with four counts of child desertion and four counts of cruelty to juveniles after authorities discovered the alleged neglect her children endured on Friday, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“At approximately 10:00 a.m., Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a welfare check at a residence in an apartment complex on Winterhalter Street in Lake Charles after receiving a report of four children, under the age of 6, being unsupervised,” police said in a press release.

“During the investigation, CPSO Special Victims Unit detectives arrived on scene and observed that the apartment was covered in feces, with a bucket of urine inside,” CPSO officials alleged. “The children were found to be dirty, with the youngest suffering from a severe diaper rash.”

When police arrived at the home, Young was allegedly nowhere to be found. She returned to the apartment approximately two hours after deputies arrived and began their investigation, per the sheriff’s office.

“When detectives spoke with her, she stated that she left the children sleeping at home around 2 or 3 a.m. to pick up food but found the fast-food restaurant to be closed,” CPSO officials said. “She advised detectives that she then went to a friend’s house, where she fell asleep.”

Young was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Center, with her bond still pending as of Monday. CPSO Sheriff Stitch Guillory stated in a press release on Friday that it was “heartbreaking” to see children living in such poor conditions.

“We appreciate the community members who alerted us to this situation,” Guillory said. “The children have been placed in state custody by the Department of Child and Family Services.”