Springfield couple accused of ‘deplorable’ conditions for 3 children

Police allege home filled with hundreds of insects, trash, feces.

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A Springfield couple have been accused of allowing three children to live in “deplorable” conditions, the home allegedly full of trash, animal feces and hundreds of insects.

Margaret M. Buell, 36, and Joseph M. Buell, 43, of 1720 Warder St., each face three counts of child endangering, a first degree misdemeanor. Police were dispatched to the home Thursday after the U.S. Marshal’s Service visited the site to search for a fugitive and noticed what court records describe as “deplorable living conditions.”

READ MORE: Springfield woman accused of overdosing with kids in ‘filthy’ home

An affidavit filed with the court says police noticed an overwhelming odor of dog feces and garbage before they entered the residence. Inside they allegedly found about 20 black garbage bags piled in the living room, as well as a mattress and box spring nearby where one of the children was sleeping. The mattress allegedly was dirty, had no sheets and appeared to have holes where a dog had chewed it, according to court reports.

“The living room was covered with trash, animal feces, animal vomit, tools and yard equipment,” the report says. “There were a large amount of flies, gnats and cockroaches throughout the living room on the floor, walls and ceiling.”

Joseph and Margaret Buell

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In the kitchen was full of dirty dishes and trash, as well as “hundreds of insects were covering the ceiling, walls and floor,” the report says, and allegedly the only food found was an expired pack of chicken in a mini fridge, according to the report. The report showed the cleanest rooms in the home were a restroom and the suspects’ bedroom, in which the bed did have sheets and blankets and appeared clean.

Children Services was called to investigate and agreed to remove the children due to the poor condition of the residence, the report said. The children were placed in the care of a relative.

Both suspects were ordered to appear in Clark County Municipal Court today.

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