Filthy-house case ending without all details known

Six months after two children were rescued from a home in Canfield filled with garbage, animal and human waste and mold, the parents have pleaded guilty.

Brian Spin, 38, will serve a 30-day sentence in county jail. His wife, Betsy, 32, will serve 72 hours of community service. The Spins pleaded Wednesday in Mahoning County Area Court to two counts of child endangering and six counts of animal cruelty.

Judge Scott Hunter in Canfield fined the couple $800 for the eight counts and $1,000 in restitution to the Canfield Police Department.

Given the circumstances surrounding this case, time behind bars is justified. Not only were the two children forced to live in conditions that words cannot adequately describe, but 12 animals were also found in the house. They were taken to the county dog warden but did not survive.

That is why the decision not to send Betsy Spin to jail requires a public explanation by the county prosecutor’s office.

“She has other issues that aren’t conducive to jail time,” Assistant Prosecutor Nick Modarelli said Wednesday. That’s it?

The public has a right to know what circumstances led the two adults to live like pigs, place their children in harm’s way and leave the animals to die.

While allowing the parents to plead guilty saves the county the cost of a trial, it means that many of the details surrounding this case will never be known.

Permitting Betsy Spin to avoid jail time because of personal issues begs these questions: How long has she been dealing with those issues? Who knew about them? Was she receiving any type of medical treatment? Did members of her extended family know?

The reason for public disclosure is simple: There are two young children who are now in the custody of Brian Spin’s parents.

Bug bites

Indeed, Betsy Spin’s mother, Georgia Holowach, was living in the house. On the day in October when police went to 535 Brookpark Drive after a woman driving by saw three dogs running loose on the street, Holowach and the children were found in an upstairs bedroom. The children were covered in bug bites and were very dirty.

“The entire house was completely uninhabitable,” Canfield Detective Brian McGivern said at the time. The rugs were saturated with urine and feces and the stench was so strong that it caused the eyes to water and triggered coughing. The home was deemed uninhabitable.

In March, the director of environmental health for the county District Board of Health, sent an abatement order to the prosecutor’s office seeking prosecution against John and Georgia Holowach, who are listed as the owners of the property. They had been given several months to either clean up the house in keeping with board of health standards, sell it or tear it down.

The Holowachs took no action, prompting the health official, Mary Helen Smith, to act.

Canfield City Manager Joe Warino has said the house will eventually be torn down and a lien will be placed on the property to recoup the cost.

Having Brian and Betsy Spin plead guilty should be taken as just one more development in this sad saga and should not be viewed as an end to the parents’ responsibility.

There must be a public explanation for what occurred. Answers to the questions will enable residents and government officials to understand and also ensure that such deplorable conditions aren’t allowed to exist elsewhere.