A report of a foul odor at a Temple, Texas, residence led authorities to rescue two children living in squalid and unsafe conditions, surrounded by rodent feces, rotting food, flies, and maggots.
Officers responded to the 500 block of E. Young Avenue just before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20, after a neighbor reported a foul odor coming from the residence and expressed concern for an elderly neighbor who had not been seen recently. When officers approached, they could immediately smell an odor that one officer stated “smelled like death,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. Officers also noted flies buzzing around the windows.
When no one answered the door or windows, officers entered the home, believing someone inside might be deceased. Once inside, police encountered 34-year-old Michael Robbins and 68-year-old John Robbins.
The affidavit states the residence was “completely filled with rotting garbage on the floor and surfaces.” Officers discovered two children, ages 8 and 10, sitting in a bathtub half-filled with dirty water. An officer noted that one of the children had matted hair that “appeared to be infested with bugs.” When asked to get dressed, both children returned wearing dirty clothes covered in food stains.
According to the affidavit, the children “smelled of urine, feces, body odor and stagnant water.” They told officers they had never attended school and did not know how to read or write. Neighbors informed police that they had not seen the children outside in several years.
The affidavit further notes that “it was learned that Michael Robbins and John Robbins did not provide food regularly for either child,” and the children had not eaten the previous evening.
The children were immediately removed from the home and transported to a children’s hospital for medical evaluations.
Police continued to search the home and found rat and mouse feces throughout the living space, rotting food on the kitchen counter covered with flies and other bugs, and maggots in standing water inside the kitchen sink.
Both Michael Robbins and John Robbins were arrested and transported to the Bell County Jail. On May 22, the Temple Police Department submitted formal charges against both men to the Bell County District Attorney’s Office, which has accepted the charges. Both men face counts of abandoning or endangering a child with intent, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence under Texas Penal Code 22.041(f), and abandoning or endangering a child with intent under Texas Penal Code 22.041(d)(1).
Multiple agencies assisted at the scene, including the Temple Police Department Criminal Investigations Division, Crime Scene Investigators, Patrol, Temple Fire and Rescue, and Child Protective Services.
The investigation remains active. Authorities urge anyone with additional information regarding the case to contact the Temple Police Department at 254-298-5500 or submit an anonymous tip through Bell County Crime Stoppers at 254-526-8477 or bellcountycrimestoppers.com.
READ: Oregon Man Named ‘Loony Toon’ Gets 20 Years After High-Speed Chase, Police Shootout
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox
