DeLAND, Fla. – Three young children were removed from a filthy DeLand home with urine-soaked floors, trash littered throughout and little access to food, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office,
Deputies said they were called Monday to the home on Evergreen Terrace to conduct a safety investigation for the 6-year-old, 4-year-old and 3-year-old children who live there.
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When authorities entered the home along with an investigator from the Department of Children and Families, they said they were immediately struck by a strong scent of urine and feces.
Throughout the home, there were empty cans of alcohol, a prescription pill bottle that could have easily been accessed by the children, trash strewn throughout bedrooms, a toilet that obviously had not been flushed for an extended period of time, a bath tub that was full of clothes, trash and dirty, stagnant water in the kitchen sink and more filth, according to the report.
Deputies said there were several animals in the home, including two ferrets that were kept in a cage full of feces. The floors of the home were soaked with urine, and at one point, the children were using a blanket that was stained with feces, according to the affidavit.
In the yard, deputies said they found more animal feces along with junk cars, a trash can full of dirty diapers and dangerous tools.
The adults who live at the home -- 29-year-old Ronald Lyles and 28-year-old Julie Lyles -- admitted to authorities that the living conditions were unfit for children, the report said. They both claimed they worked too much and were too exhausted to clean the home.
Deputies said they determined the conditions inside the home were unsafe and could potentially cause the children mental and physical harm.
Ronald Lyles and Julie Lyles were arrested on three counts of child neglect. Deputies said the couple faced similar charges in 2017 due to the conditions in the home and has had three DCF cases opened against them in the past four years.
The three children were placed in DCF custody.