Boys Trapped in Barricaded, Filthy, Roach-Infested Home: Police

“It’s a tragedy, it’s enough to bring pain in your heart.”

That’s how Upper Darby Police Commissioner Michael Chitwood describes what officers found when they responded to a home on the 800 block of Lenox Road after a report of a boy being held in the home by a woman who didn’t have permission to care for him.

Local Child and Youth Services responded to the scene multiple times without any answer before getting police involved. Authorities obtained a warrant and entered the property early Thursday.

“Once we got in through the basement the front door had all furniture blocking anybody from getting in… and the windows were bolted from the inside.”

Two boys, 8 and 9 years old, were asleep in dirty clothes inside the rundown home.

“The house was totally, totally infested with roaches on the ceilings, on the walls, on the floors, clothing furniture, food…”

As officers tried to take the children Tiffanie Hardy, 30, allegedly fought back and resisted. Police put her under arrest and removed the boys. The relationship of the boys to Hardy wasn’t released but police did say she didn’t have permission to have custody of one of the boys.

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Chitwood said the boys hadn’t eaten in at least a day and hadn’t been to school since the start of the year.

County health officials declared the home unsanitary and padlocked the door Thursday morning. A sign posted by the health department was partially removed when NBC10’s Monique Braxton went to the home late Thursday morning.

Hardy, 30, was arraigned on 11 counts Thursday morning including reckless endangerment, child endangerment, conspiracy and resisting arrest and sent to jail unable to post 10 percent of $10,000 bail.

Hardy’s mother Cosette Carter-Hardy, who also lived in the home, turned herself into police later Thursday morning.

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