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Woman kept filthy, roach-infested home for kids, police say
YOUNGSTOWN
A Youngstown woman faces several charges after police found her seven children and several pets living in filthy conditions in a West Side home.
Mary Laura Graffius, 32, of 112 S. Lakeview Ave., is charged with misdemeanor infestation and misdemeanor accumulation of rubbish. She is set to appear for trial in housing court June 25.
Youngstown police were sent to the Lakeview Avenue home Tuesday to investigate a complaint of large amounts of debris in the yard and dogs chained outside without food and water. Officers and members of the dog warden’s office tried to reach Graffius at that time with no success.
Officers returned to the home Wednesday and noticed that the yard was cleaner than the day before but still full of clutter and debris. The dogs had been taken inside the house.
Police standing outside the house noted a “horrific” smell of garbage coming from the house. The odor could be detected from 20 feet outside the house.
Officers at the house Wednesday decided to enter it because of the complaint, the smell and the seven children who live in the house.
According to reports, officers entered the home and found the house to be infested with roaches. Reports say the insects covered virtually every surface in the house and were seen coming out of holes in mattresses and in the ceiling.
Officers inside the house also noted a severe mold problem due to a water leak in the kitchen ceiling. There was also laundry piled in every room and “filthy” counter tops and floors as well, reports said.
Police took 63 photos of conditions in the house as evidence.
Representatives of Children Services sent the seven children living at the house to stay with their fathers and other relatives.
Four cats inside the house were given to Animal Charity for care, and two dogs inside the house were taken by relatives.