According to police, Lindsey Powell’s apartment they were met by an “awful stench” and a scene that nearly knocked an officer down. Powell allegedly abandoned her four children, ages 11, 6, 4, and 3, to fend for themselves in filth and squalor while the “overwhelmed” mother fled to New York.
The local CBS affiliate WFSB published Powell’s arrest report online this week. “The stench originating from inside the apartment was burning my nostrils,” Webster said, noting the presence of human and cat feces, as well as piles of trash and fly swarms.
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“The living conditions in the apartment were deplorable,” Webster told me. “Trash, toys, dirt, old food, and clothes covered the living room floor.
It was difficult to navigate through the living room without stepping on any debris or bodily fluids. I found feces from humans and cats on the kitchen floor, as well as crusty/moldy food throughout the apartment.
Powell, 40, allegedly left her children in the rancid apartment for at least eight hours while traveling to upstate New York, according to her arrest report. According to the report, she claimed to have abandoned them because she was “overwhelmed” and “depressed.”
A friend claimed she had been making “suicidal statements about driving her car off a cliff.” The arrest report states that Powell’s aunt informed police that she had told her that day that she intended to commit suicide by swallowing “a bottle of pills.”
Police discovered Powell “four and a half to five hours” away in Poughkeepsie, New York, and based on evidence and the location of her arrest, claimed she “had no intention of returning to care for her children.
It’s unclear whether Powell was living in these deplorable conditions before her alleged breakdown or if her apartment fell into disrepair after she left. Police dispatched a welfare check to her home upon discovering her alleged nastiness.
“When I arrived, I knocked on the door…” “I spoke with an 11-year-old female,” Webster stated.
The smell of cat urine, rotting food, and feces hit me immediately when the child opened the door… When I asked if her parents were home, she replied, ‘No.’ [The child] stated that she did not know where her mother was, when she left, or when she would return.”
According to Webster, the children were unable to call anyone because they lacked a functional cellphone. According to the report, he observed them eating moldy food at the residence. Powell claims three of the kids are autistic. It’s unclear where their father is and whether he’s involved in the case.
“I had difficulty standing in the bedroom for longer than a few seconds because of this smell,” Webster told me. “The children, on the other hand, had no trouble entering this bedroom. I believed the children had become oblivious to the horrible stench of the bedroom.”
Powell has been charged with four counts of endangering a child and is being held on a $250,000 surety bond.
