TPD: Children Living In Filth; Mother Arrested For Child Abuse

Tulsa police found two children living in filth and arrested the mother on two counts of child abuse.

Officers arrested Debra Nolan when they discovered the deplorable conditions her 1- and 4-year-old children were living in; police said the mother exposed the children to chronic abuse.

The arrest report details the living conditions and the children's past exposure to sexual abuse. The officer said the mother kept putting the children in harm's way, which is why she's now at the Tulsa County jail.

Neighbors said Nolan was in the apartment with her 1- and 4-year-old children when police showed up because she and her boyfriend were fighting.

The arrest report says Nolan told officers her boyfriend choked her in front of the children.

When police walked inside, they couldn't believe what they saw.

"Moldy food all over the apartment, cockroaches, soiled diapers," Officer Jeanne MacKenzie said.

Documents say, besides the apartment being very cold, "the children were filthy, they had food and snot dried on their faces and mouths."

It also says one of the children's feet was "black from filth, the house reeked of fifth, garbage, cigarette smoke and urine. There were live cockroaches crawling all of the walls and in the cabinets."

"As a parent, it's the mom's responsibility to protect the children and make sure they are safe and make sure they have a good home," MacKenzie said.

She said it also means a home free from domestic violence; police found the 1-year-old child had multiple bruises.

According to the report, Nolan told officers it's because her boyfriend broke through the window to get inside and her youngest got hit by a board.

"If they hadn't have gotten called there they may not have seen the conditions, and the children could have been hurt worse or ingested something that made them sick," MacKenzie said.

Police said the kids have been exposed to even worse in the past.

Nolan has a protective order against the children's father, police said for "sexually abusing" one of the children.

The report also says Nolan flushed her boyfriend’s drugs down the toilet when police arrived.

Her bond is set at $200,000 and her children are in DHS custody.