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Abandoned children lived with brother's corpse for a year, authorities said
FOX 26 Reporter Damali Keith has the latest on the investigation.
No charges have yet to be filed after three young boys were found abandoned in an apartment with the skeletal remains of their deceased brother on Sunday.
It happened in the Alief area. Harris County sheriff’s investigators tracked down the mother of the four boys and her boyfriend, but the two were interviewed Monday morning and released. That comes as a surprise to many as residents at the west Harris County apartment complex are left haunted by the tragedy that was happening right here and no one knew.
BACKGROUND: HCSO: 3 children abandoned, skeletal remains of another child found in Harris Co. apartment
"Words can’t describe what I’m feeling," says one neighbor with tears streaming down her face.
That’s the reaction from most of the residents after learning three brothers living inside the Alief area apartment have been suffering for months, living abandoned with the skeletal remains of their 9-year-old brother.
"My whole body was like shaking you know, human remains? Imagine what the kids went through," says one neighbor.
"It makes me want to cry, to live there knowing one of my siblings was dead, like what?" adds another neighbor.
The boys, ages 15, 10, and seven were all malnourished and had physical injuries, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. The 15-year-old told detectives his brother’s body was in the room next to his and they’ve been living this way, abandoned with no parents, with the 9-year-old’s body for nearly a year.
"Very horrific situation, very tragic. I’ve been in this business a long time and I’ve never seen anything like this," says Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
A number of neighbors did not want to be identified, including one who says she complained to the leasing office of a horrible odor months ago. But she says when nothing was done about it, she had to shut off her air conditioner to try to keep the smell out. Another resident left a football outside the apartment.
"My sons love football and that was taken away from (these boys) and it’s just been on my mind all night," says the woman with tears in her eyes.
Many other neighbors say their children are now having nightmares and even the adults are having trouble sleeping.
"I just couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I closed my eyes but I just couldn’t go to sleep. Every time I close my eyes I see," and the woman shakes her head and doesn’t complete the sentence.
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Child Protective Services is seeking emergency custody of the boys. CPS does have history with this family, but there’s currently no active investigation.
The boys were taken to the hospital and treated for their injuries. They were last enrolled in school, as far as we can tell, in Alief ISD. According to the district, the boys haven’t been enrolled in school since May 2020.