Sheriff: 5-year-old still hospitalized on a ventilator after being found in trunk of car
A Jackson County 5-year-old boy who was found locked in the trunk of a car is still hospitalized and on a ventilator, according to the sheriff.
Jackson County, West Virginia, Sheriff Ross Mellinger said Wednesday that the boy was at Women and Children's Hospital while his parents, Nantail and Corey Roberts, remained in the South Central Regional Jail.
Both parents are charged with three counts of child neglect creating risk of injury and one count of child neglect resulting in injury.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Jackson County Magistrate Court on Tuesday, detectives responded to Bobo Street in Cottageville in response to an unresponsive child who was found in the trunk of a car.
Detectives said they went into the home and found the child's mother holding the still unresponsive boy who appeared to be suffering from advanced stages of heat-related injury.
A detective got a wet towel from the bathroom and wrapped the boy in it before moving him to an ambulance that arrived moments later.
The detective noted in the complaint that the "overpowering smell of feces and urine was so strong" that it caused investigators to not be able to breathe properly.
"A multitude of trash, rotten food, flies, maggots, dirty diapers, as well as clutter to the point that it restricted any movement inside the home," Detective S.C. Fisher wrote in the complaint.
Three other children, who are 3, 2, and 9-months-old, were all "foul and unbathed," according to the report.
Fisher said Nantail Roberts said she had not seen the boy since he had gone to bed between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. She told investigators that she woke up about 12:30 p.m. or 1 p.m. and the boy was not inside the home. Fisher said she admitted her negligence in caring for the boy directly related to him suffering serious bodily injury.
Corey Roberts allegedly told deputies that he did not believe his home was in livable conditions and that his negligence in getting up to care for his children directly related to the 5-year-old suffering serious bodily injury.
Both the parents are currently being held on a $250,000 surety/cash bond each.
