Authorities in Muncie, Indiana, say a 25-year-old father kept his young daughter and an elderly woman in such appalling conditions that emergency responders were forced to wear hazmat suits to enter the home.
Police arrested Daniel Matthew Good on Thursday, charging him with felony neglect of a dependent after investigators found his 5-year-old child and a 78-year-old woman inside what officers described as a “deplorable, unacceptable and filthy” residence.
The case began Sept. 25 when a social worker contacted police, reporting concerns about a woman inside a home on East Andover Avenue who appeared to need urgent medical care. When an officer arrived, paramedics explained that the 78-year-old victim was infested with lice and insects “all over her body,” according to local reports. Her connection to Good has not yet been clarified.
Before police could enter, Muncie Fire Department officials warned that the stench and infestation required protective gear. The responding officer donned a hazmat suit and gas mask, later recounting that cockroaches and bedbugs “scurry[ed] through the door” and that the odor was so overwhelming it “made my eyes water.”
Inside, authorities discovered widespread filth, including dirt, bugs, and fecal matter coating the kitchen and bathroom. A representative from the Indiana Department of Child Services who inspected the property agreed the home was “unlivable” and determined the child could not safely remain there.
When Good later arrived with his daughter, police observed the girl’s ill-fitting clothing, bug bites on her arm, and shoes that did not fit. The leaseholder of the property told investigators he had repeatedly warned Good to clean the residence but said his pleas went ignored.
Good was booked into Delaware County Jail, where he is being held on a $10,000 bond. As of Monday, court records did not show a scheduled hearing date.
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