PU – What began as a welfare call for a malnourished newborn ended with four adults behind bars and multiple children removed from what Putnam County Sheriff H.D. “Gator” DeLoach described as a “house of horrors.”
Investigators say Jodie Cannon, 26, of Florahome, was arrested July 21 after doctors determined her 6-week-old infant had suffered from medical neglect. Just over a week later, three more adults living in the same home were taken into custody following a search warrant that deputies say revealed deplorable living conditions, including black mold, rotting floors and animal feces throughout the residence.
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The initial arrest
The case began July 7, when a Department of Children and Families caseworker called rescue to have Cannon’s infant evaluated after concerns about weight loss and a severe diaper rash. Before rescue arrived, Cannon was asked whether she wanted to take the child to a doctor — she refused.
When rescue personnel arrived at the home, they requested Cannon not ride with them to the hospital due to concerns of neglect.
At the hospital, investigators say doctors found the infant had a low heart rate, low body temperature and dangerously low weight. The child had dropped below the fifth percentile in weight, and doctors determined the infant could have died without medical intervention, according to deputies. Despite being offered help, they say Cannon again declined medical assistance.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Cannon told detectives a pediatrician had advised her to switch formulas, but that the doctor’s office had closed and the baby had not been seen again despite continued weight loss.
A warrant for Cannon’s arrest was issued July 20. She was charged with aggravated child neglect with great bodily harm and child neglect, then booked into the Putnam County Jail.
The infant was released from the hospital into DCF care and is expected to recover, according to investigators.
Search warrant uncovers dangerous conditions: PSCO
On July 29, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office detectives, working alongside the agency’s SWAT team, executed a search warrant on Nettles Road in Florahome — the home Cannon shared with her newborn, two other children, the children’s biological father and her mother, stepfather and another child.
Investigators say what they found inside shocked them.
Detectives described “deplorable living conditions,” including unsafe ceiling repairs painted over to hide visible black mold, water-rotted floors in multiple rooms, animal feces throughout the home and swarms of flies. At the entry of a living room, detectives were told a child had been sleeping on a mattress swarming with flies. Busted pipes had caused floors to rot in several areas, including a bathroom. The room where the children’s biological father stayed had uneaten food on dishes, along with flies and cockroaches.
Putnam County Code Enforcement also responded to the residence during the search.
Three more adults charged
Following the search, detectives charged Melissa Keal, 50, Cannon’s biological mother; John Keal, 52, Cannon’s stepfather; and Jordan Wilson, 30, the biological father of the children, each with child neglect.
Prosecutors with the Seventh Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, who had been in contact with detectives throughout the investigation, say they determined all three should be charged as adult household members who failed to provide the child with the care, supervision and services necessary to maintain the child’s physical and mental health.
During Cannon’s initial arrest, detectives said they did not have enough evidence of neglectful conditions to remove an adopted child belonging to Melissa Keal at that time. During the July 29 search warrant, that child was removed by DCF. Following Cannon’s earlier arrest, her three children in her custody had already been removed from the home by DCF.
Deputies say the case remains active and additional charges related to neglect of the other children are possible for all four adults.
‘Words cannot describe the house of horrors’
Sheriff DeLoach did not mince words when describing what his deputies found inside the Nettles Road home.
“Words cannot describe the house of horrors these children were living,” DeLoach said. “Animal feces and urine everywhere, black mold, flies – small children trying to navigate hazardous flooring conditions – and the sad part is they have grown around all of this, not knowing they were dealt the absolute worst conditions I can imagine living in a First World country.”
“I applaud those who have stepped up to show these young children what a safe home, family and love should look like,” DeLoach said. “The children and the foster parents caring for them have a long road ahead of them.”
Animals surrendered
Four dogs and three kittens living in the home were voluntarily surrendered to Putnam County Animal Services. Officials said the animals will be evaluated and placed for adoption in healthy homes. Because the animals were surrendered voluntarily, detectives are not pursuing animal neglect charges.