A Deltona couple who lived in filth with two teenagers, an elderly woman and more than 60 pets was arrested Wednesday on felony charges of child neglect, neglect of the elderly and animal cruelty.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office was initially dispatched to the residence on Captain Drive Wednesday morning to assist Deltona Animal Control officers with the execution of a search warrant so that city officials could check on the health and living conditions of the animals inside the home. What deputies saw and smelled led them to conclude that the home was unfit for habitation.
A husband and wife who live there, Timothy Horne, 51, and Renee Horne, 55, were charged with two counts of child neglect and one count each of neglect of an elderly person or disabled adult and animal cruelty.
When deputies approached the house, they immediately detected a strong odor of animal urine and feces coming from the residence. They also spotted a large number of flies on the inside of the windows. While escorting the occupants out of the house -- including a 15-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and a 75-year-old woman with a severely diminished mental capacity due to dementia -- the deputy and animal control officer initially spotted more than a dozen cats in the foyer along with a lot of animal feces and urine. There were several litter boxes in the house for the animals, but the boxes were overflowing and looked as if they hadn't been emptied in weeks. There also were dirty dishes strewn about the kitchen countertop and flies throughout the entire downstairs of the house. Piles of animal feces were found in the bedrooms, bathrooms and hallways, too. The deputy noted in his report that "the condition of the residence was unlivable due to the amount of animal feces and urine within."
Deltona Animal Control officers were still at the residence Wednesday afternoon rounding up the animals, which so far totaled 61 cats and three dogs. The Florida Department of Children and Families was called to the scene to make arrangements for the occupants of the home. The children were turned over to relatives and the 75-year-old woman was taken to the hospital for medical treatment.
The defendants were booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail, where they initially are being held without bond.