A Florida couple was taken into custody after police allegedly discovered their five kids unaccompanied in a house without electricity, food, or a working toilet.
According to court documents, Sanel Canovic, 40, and Azra Nikocevic, 33, are each charged with five counts of neglecting a child without causing bodily harm. Christopher Bess, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, said the investigation started Tuesday afternoon when a bystander noticed a 6-year-old youngster crossing the street alone in the busy 700 block of 15th Street, according to Law & Crime.
The parents were imprisoned after police discovered something horrifying. Four additional kids, all younger than twelve, were inside, Bess claimed. Bess said there was no food, no running toilet, and no electricity. The children claimed to be hungry because they hadn’t eaten in more than 12 hours. While they searched for the parents, officers brought the children to the police station and fed them.
“They were nowhere to be found,” Bess said. An arrest affidavit acquired by Miami NBC affiliate WTVJ provided more information about the children’s situation. Officers observed that there was feces in the home’s toilet.
According to the children, because the residence lacked toilet paper, their parents made them take showers after using the restroom. In the restroom, police found dirty rags. According to the affidavit, the children smelled of urine and had dirty clothes. According to the affidavit, they also claimed to have been without electricity for almost two months.
The oldest daughter described how they typically ate breakfast and lunch at school, but they frequently went without food because they were on Christmas vacation. Before leaving for work on Tuesday, their mother apparently left them $20 for food from McDonald’s.
“The parents would frequently share a meal in the evening without providing food for the children,” the affidavit reportedly said. “They would often leave the children at home while they went out to dinner.”
When the mother was eventually reached by officers, they instructed her to go to the police station. She clarified that their power was turned off around six weeks ago because they were late on their bill. Nikocevic also acknowledged that she handed her children the $20 for dinner, but because they were unable to get in touch with her at work, she had no means of knowing whether they had eaten anything.
When Canovic got to the police station, he refused to talk to officers without a lawyer. He was taken by police to Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation, where he is currently being held on a $7,500 bond. Nikocevic was freed thanks to her own initiative. The date of their upcoming court appearance is January 30.
