by A young girl was welcomed in a man’s home after her mother left her alone while she decided to go out partying all night.
According to 11Alive, James Fisher realized something wasn’t right when a 11-year-old girl knocked on his door around 7 p.m. on Saturday.
“It was pretty obvious, she wanted help. She wanted us to do something about it,” Fisher said.
The girl was very hungry, so Fisher gave her spaghetti as they waited for her mom to come home. By the time 2 a.m. rolled around, the child had already fallen asleep on the couch and Fisher was fuming at her mother. “It’s just unacceptable for a mother to do whatever she wants when she has a kid at home,” he said.
Finally, Fisher called the police to report that the young girl’s mother, later identified as Deborah Oats, had left her child home alone for several hours at night.
Fisher then revealed to authorities that the little girl had told him that her mother was out “clubbing.”
After calling authorities, Fisher and the girl walked back to Oats’ apartment, where he discovered a “colony of roaches scattered throughout” the living room, kitchen, and bedroom.
While speaking with investigators, Fisher also revealed that he found fleas and ticks all over the apartment, as well as an exceptionally dirty mattress in the little girl’s bedroom.
“The apartment was a wreck; it was horrible—like if you’ve ever seen an episode ‘Hoarders,’ almost like that,” Fisher recalled.
“There’s poop on the floor sometimes, cause they don’t let the dog out,” he added.
Indeed, the apartment was so dirty, according to Fisher, that he even discovered a “fungus” growing on the refrigerator.
Marietta Police officers ultimately arrested Oats when she finally returned home from her night of clubbing around 3 a.m.
“The conditions were deplorable from animal feces to insects to lack of food,” said Officer Chuck McPhilamy.
“Anytime that a child is involved it touches each person’s heart, especially an officer that’s responding because you’re dealing with someone that’s helpless that’s relying on an adult for care,” he added.
According to authorities, Oats was arrested on several charges related to child neglect and child cruelty.
Despite news of Oats’ arrest, it remains unclear who is taking care of her 11-year-old daughter now that she has been thrown behind bars.
