Police Say Thousands Of Roaches Found During Child Neglect Arrest

A Tulsa woman has been arrested on three felony counts of child neglect after police say they found thousands of roaches crawling all over the family home.

Marie Ann Tom, 30, is being held on a $150,000 bond.

Officers went to her apartment in the 2500 block of East 8th Street late Sunday after an anonymous caller reported hearing children screaming and crying. Tom answered the door and tried to block police from seeing inside the residence, according to an arrest report.

The officer said he could smell a strong smell of rancid garbage, and when Tom open the door a little, he could see the area just inside the door was covered in trash.

"I entered the apartment and observed that the entire floor of the apartment was covered in rotting trash, dirty diapers, clothes, food and filth," the police officer said. "Thousands of roaches were covering all surfaces."

Police took the kids into temporary custody then released them to the care of their paternal grandfather. 

Authorities say Tom seemed detached from the situation and unconcerned about her kids. She reportedly blamed her 8-year-old son for the mess and said, "Let DHS take them; I don't care," the report states.