The social workers took custody of the children
A woman named Dashja Turner, from Racine Wisconsin, was charged with five counts of criminal neglect after her five children were found malnourished in the basement. According to a report by People, Turner was arrested and charged with neglect.
Racine police and the Human Services Department arrived at her home for a welfare check on July 31 at around 3.30 pm and found her five children between the ages of 14 months to 14 years old in the basement in frail condition, the outlet said.
As per the documents obtained by WDJT-TV, Turner's children all weigh under 55 lbs (24 kg), with the youngest child weighing in at 10 lbs (4.5 kg), which is not considered a healthy weight for a 14-month-old. The children also appeared to have not showered for days and were found only wearing socks.
The children were found with no food, no bathroom, exposed wooden stairs and one light with a pull cord. One window was covered with purple paint.
As per Fox News, four children were found on a twin-size mattress, and Turned and the fifth child was found in an adjoining room. The complaint said that the children were "frail, lethargic and unkempt."
The social workers took custody of the children and were taken to Children's Wisconsin.
Prosecutors said that the children were severely malnourished and one had signs of physical abuse.
"There's complete neglect and abuse; no food, completely malnourished children washing away and in the .01 percentile in the weight that they should be," said Brooke Erickson, Racine County assistant district attorney.
The complaint said the mother denied neglecting the children and said they used the upstairs bathroom, and she bathed them using soapy water from a bucket. Turned claimed she feeds them basic food. However, the police did not find any of those items at the home.
The mother said that the medical condition related to the children were "genetic." Turner also denied physical abuse and said the injuries were caused by children fighting. She told the investigators that the children were homeschooled.
Turned appeared in court on August 10. During the hearing, Racine County Asst District Brooke Erickson asked the judge to raise Turner's bail to $1 million.