This half of the video we shot takes you into the upstairs bathroom, girls' room, and garage. Please see Part 1 for more description of the overall situation. It should be noted that there were 3 cats, 1 dog, 2 rabbits and 2 frogs living in this house at the time of the mess. The dog was fairly new to the family, maybe over the last year or so. They had a dog before that, but they left oven cleaner soaked paper towels lying in the kitchen garbage, and the dog ingested that while digging in the rubbage for food. The mother blamed the dog and gave it away...only to get a new one maybe 2 months later.
In the kitchen, in Part 1, you can see a scant amount of edible food on the counter, mingled with plates and crumbs of old rotting food, prescription drugs, vitamin drops (which mom let the children access themselves as "medication" for self-soothing), and household cleaners. There is no sanitary place to prepare food, even if there were any clean pans or dishes to use. The cabinets were empty of any eating utensils, and mom had placed paper cups on one shelf. The sink was inaccessible, although a water purifying adapter had just been installed on the tap...like that would help that mess.
And in case you missed the litter box in the first video, or didn't catch the significance, that bathroom door is left closed--so the cats can't even use that litter box. The only litter box in the house is the one in the upstairs bathroom, for 3 cats. The older girl (who was 10 years old at the time) stated that the previous litter box was awful, and her mom had just gotten the disposable one pictured in the bathroom in the video. This same 10 year old was in charge of sweeping up the poop that landed out on the floor...but there was nowhere to put it. Plus, you have to realize these children don't ever wash up without being told. And even then, you have to stand over them or they will fake it and walk away. Making a 10 year old with no sense of personal hygiene responsible for handling animal feces, without ensuring she understands how to wash herself up afterward, is negligent in my book.
Though, how any of these children could have any sense of hygiene or sanitation living like this is beyond comprehension. It shouldn't be surprising that these children were sick all the time, and both girls missed over 40 days of school each, during each of the two previous school years in mom's care.
Back to the poor animals, the mother had apparently cooked one of the children's previous rabbits' brains right in its skull, by setting its cage in direct sunlight out on the back deck. She then placed the rabbit in a plastic bag and kept it in the freezer for months--the same freezer where they stored their food. So, every time the kids got ice cream, they got a nice reminder of their dead little friend. The rabbit was in the freezer for over a year.
Speaking of food, you will notice we stopped and pulled food out of a bag in the garage. This is charity food that mom gets, and never uses it. She has had about $50,000 in support each year for the last 3 years, but she feels that's still not enough. So, she goes and gets charity food so that people will feel sorry for her and think the kids' father is not supporting her. She makes the kids promise not to tell anyone about the charity food. She also lies and signs the kids up for free lunches at school, to further the story that dad is a deadbeat and is making the children suffer.
What you don't see in these videos is the alienation and emotional abuse from the mother. She hates the father, and lets the kids know it in no uncertain terms, undermining any stability or discipline that she hears happens at our house, and even screaming and swearing at dad, and threatening to get him put in jail, right in front of the kids. She has convinced the kids that their dad is abusive to them, and that they need her thoughts and prayers to get through their days with him, because he is so awful. She has kept the kids well after scheduled visitation was over, notwithstanding the girls' pleading to take them home, making them very upset. The kids said she was "acting like a child", and were in tears--obviously they felt very helpless and scared. She even called her rich dad and had him call and threaten the dad, to "persuade" dad to give mom the kids. This woman has even tried to assault me, but I got out of the way and avoided it. All this, and yet there is no order of protection, no order for any anger management, parenting, or domestic violence counseling or treatment.
Again, if you are having, or have had, similar experiences, especially in Colorado, please comment. Share this video liberally, and help us get the word out about protecting kids in divorce.
