Parents Charged for Keeping Girls in Feces-Infested Home

A couple faces child endangerment charges after three young girls were found in a feces-covered home.

Soyika Eldemire, 25, and the girls' mother Lakeeshanaye Overton, 24, were arrested after Philadelphia police officers investigating a domestic violence accusation found the girls -- ages 1, 3, and 4 -- in a house filled with feces and unknown fluids covering the floors, furniture and a playpen Thursday morning in the family's home along the 4800 block of N 9th Street in the city's Logan section.

“It looked a little unkempt, the smell was a little bit tough to take,” said Philadelphia Police Captain John Fleming during a press conference this morning.

Soyika Eldemire (left) and Lakeeshanaye Overton are accused of endangering three girls found inside their feces-filled home.

The children, ages 1, 3, and 4, were removed from the home around 9 a.m. Thursday.

Police say the girls were found only wearing diapers. Investigators say there was no crib or bedding for the children inside the home.

“The officer observed what it deemed to be inappropriate and questionable conditions, Fleming said. "They believed to be children possibly in danger."

Police initially reported to the home to deliver a domestic violence warrant. The girls' mother was arrested for assaulting her husband, Eldemire.

The pair was later charged with three counts each of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.

The children were taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for evaluation where they showed no major injuries.

The children were taken into Department of Human Services Custody and will be placed in foster homes, according to police.

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