Finance
Authorities charged Dashja Turner, a woman from Racine, Wisconsin, with five counts of criminal neglect after discovering her five malnourished children in the basement. People reported that they arrested and charged Turner with neglect.
Racine police and the Human Services Department arrived at her home for a welfare check on July 31 at around 3.30 pm and found her five children between the ages of 14 months to 14 years old in the basement in frail condition, the outlet said.
WDJT-TV obtained documents revealing that all of Turner’s children weigh under 55 lbs (24 kg), with the youngest child tipping the scale at 10 lbs (4.5 kg), an unhealthy weight for a 14-month-old. The children also seemed to have gone without showers for days and were discovered wearing only socks.
No food, no bathroom, exposed wooden stairs, and only one light with a pull cord were discovered with the children. A window had purple paint covering it.
Fox News reported that four children were discovered on a twin-size mattress, while Turner and the fifth child were located in an adjoining room. The complaint said that the children were “frail, lethargic and unkempt.”
The social workers took custody of the children and transported them to Children’s Wisconsin.
Prosecutors said that the children were severely malnourished and one had signs of physical abuse.
“There’s complete neglect and abuse; no food, completely malnourished children washing away and in the .01 percentile in the weight that they should be,” said Brooke Erickson, Racine County assistant district attorney.
The complaint said the mother denied neglecting the children and said they used the upstairs bathroom, and she bathed them using soapy water from a bucket. Turned claimed she feeds them basic food. However, the police did not find any of those items at the home.
The mother said that the medical condition related to the children were “genetic.” Turner also denied engaging in physical abuse and attributed the injuries to children fighting. She informed the investigators that she homeschooled the children.
Turned appeared in court on August 10. During the hearing, Racine County Asst District Brooke Erickson asked the judge to raise Turner’s bail to $1 million.
