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Police received multiple complaints about children living in squalor, mother now wanted for neglect
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BAKER — Neighbors say a mother accused of leaving her six children alone in a home filled with rat feces has a history of leaving them for long periods of time.
According to an arrest warrant, Baker Police officers were called to 31-year-old Brianna Carpenter's home along Wilson Drive on Sunday evening. Six children, ages 11, 10, 8, 7, 6 and 3, were in the house when officers arrived.
Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said his officers have responded to calls about this family eight different times.
"Upon my research, I see that we have responded as far back as 2020 in a situation similar to this situation," Dunn said.
Inside Carpenter's home, officers said they found rat feces on the floor, furniture, in cabinets and the refrigerator. The only food found in the house was either spoiled or had mold on it.
Each mattress in the three bedrooms was soiled. Neither the toilet nor the bathtub worked.
A man who did not want to go on camera said the whole neighborhood is aware of the situation in this house. He said they would often feed and bathe the children themselves.
He said he would see the mother stop by about once a week and that most days the older children would get on the school bus if their grandmother was there in the morning.
For reasons still unclear, the children remained in the home despite police notifying the state.
"My clerk has mentioned this morning that I have several times emailed and referred this particular situation to DCFS," Dunn said.
DCFS did not respond to an email on Thursday requesting comment.
Carpenter is wanted for four counts of child desertion, one for each child under the age of 10, and six counts of cruelty to juveniles. She has not yet been located or arrested.
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