(WTMJ/NBC News Channel) — A Wisconsin mother and her boyfriend are facing neglect charges after two children were found living in horrible living conditions. Neighbors said they were shocked to learn what happened—something they only discovered after two children broke a window and escaped the home.
Rick Eder says he was coming around the corner when two children ran out into the street.
“Very. Very disturbing,” Eder recalled. “We thought they were wearing costumes at first because the hair was so long, it looked like they were wearing wigs. When I get a closer look at them, I looked at my wife and tell her, they’re not costumes.”
“We saw a bunch of red marks on them. They had no clothes,” Eder added.
The two children, who are both under the age of 10, were covered in marks and bruises. Police said their hair was matted and full of feces.
“We’re going for two children, naked, walking down the street. Unknown of what happened. Have blood on them,” a person is heard saying in a 911 call.
The children’s mother, Katie Koch and her boyfriend, Joel Manke are now facing several charges of chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment.
According to the criminal complaint, Koch walked police through a home, which officers described as a “terrible hoarding situation.” Police said the smell of urine and feces “filled the residence” and the children’s room “had feces smeared all over the walls,” and there was a lock on the outside.
“You could tell they weren’t well taken care of,” Eder said.
The complaint also said Koch police her children had bathed in five days, and it had been a year or two since they went to the doctor. She said the kids are homeschooled and they are still learning to write and put sentences together.
The mother was given a $30,000 cash bail. Her boyfriend’s was $6,500.
