Prosecutors have charged a Goshen couple with neglecting their children and animals after authorities found unlivable conditions in their trailer.
Court records say a UPS driver alerted police Thursday after they’d been unable to deliver a package and saw condensation on the windows and a lot of flies. Police could smell a strong odor of feces and decomposition from outside, and they saw a mess through the windows.
But 44-year-old tenant Laura Duncan wouldn’t let police inside and her husband, 39-year-old Thomas Duncan, was at work. Duncan said their three children, ages 16, 14 and 12, also lived in the trailer.
On Monday, four days later, police and Department of Child Services officials came back with a search warrant. Inside they found 24 dogs and two cats. A dead dog was found in a trash bag.
Goshen Police Officer Jacob Lambright wrote in his report that clearing the trailer required multiple attempts because the urine and feces odor was so strong. The floor was so covered with feces that he couldn’t tell what type of flooring the trailer had.
DCS took custody of the children and police arrested Thomas and Laura Duncan on neglect charges, as felonies regarding the children. The animals were taken to the Humane Society of Elkhart County.
