5 Kids Found Malnourished in Basement, Mom Charged with Neglect

Mar. 16, 2025

Photo:Racine police

Dashja Turner

Racine police

A woman in Wisconsin was arrested and charged with neglect after her five children were found malnourished in the basement of her home.

Racine police and the Human Services Department arrived at her home for a welfare check on July 31 at around 3:30 p.m. and found her five children between the ages of 14 months to 14 years old in the basement in frail condition, per the outlet.

The unfinished basement that they were in only contained a twin size air mattress with a single sheet covering it with no pillows or blankets and had purple paint covering every window, the outlet reported.

“This is an egregious type of case as far as the care of the children goes,” Racine County Court Commissioner John Bjelajac reportedly said during Turner’s first appearance in court.

Officials said that Turner had claimed that the children were being homeschooled.

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“I think the exposure, the absolutely abhorrent conditions of these children were in warrant one million dollars cash given the seriousness of the offense,” Racine County Asst. D.A. Erickson said in court, according to the outlet.

A preliminary hearing for the case is set for Aug. 16.

source: people.com