Mom Arrested After Garbage, Dead Cat Found In Home

DENVER -- A West Denver mother is charged with two counts of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of animal cruelty after police discovered wall-to-wall trash, flies and a decomposing cat carcass inside the home she shared with her kids.

Michelle Martinez, 40, was arrested April 24 after police found what was described in court papers as "inhospitable and uninhabitable conditions."

The smells made one officer want to vomit, according to a search warrant obtained by 7NEWS.

The house is located near South Tejon Street and West Gill Place in Denver.

The warrant said police originally went to the home to arrest a man on felony domestic violence and second-degree assault charges. The man, believed to be Martinez’s ex-husband according to neighbors, was not there.

"From the outside, I could see that the entire front room was filled with trash from wall to wall," the officer wrote in a statement filed with the Denver District Attorney's Office.

Investigators saw children inside the home but Martinez slammed the door shut on the officers before they could investigate further, the search warrant said.

"The detective, concerned for the welfare of the children, kicked in the door to bring the children out," the document said.

Three children found inside were ages 14, 15 and 17, according to the warrant.

"We received consent to enter the residence from Michelle Martinez, and I noticed that each room was worse, in terms of garbage, than the first," an officer wrote in the probable cause statement.

"In one of the back rooms, there was a dead cat that was half skeleton and the other half still had fur on it," the officer said.

"In the same bedroom, a bed mattress was covered with animal feces. The house was full of insects. The basement was flooded. There were several cats inside of the house that were still alive," the officer said in his statement.

A neighbor told 7NEWS she saw animal control officers seize around seven live cats.

A judge granted the search warrant to take photographs and remove the dead animal.

No one has been allowed back in the home. A red "Order To Evacuate" sign was posted by the health department and front door was padlocked.

"It was kind of strange," said one neighbor, who didn't know the family, and asked not to be identified.

The neighbor said he often saw the teenagers walk around the property from the front door to the back yard without going through the house.

Another neighbor told 7NEWS Martinez was a good person who cared about her teenaged children. Martinez appeared ashamed when police arrested her, the neighbor said.

Several neighbors said they were unaware of conditions in the house.

7NEWS was unable to reach Martinez, who posted a $2,500 bond. Her parents declined to comment when contacted Wednesday evening.

A close friend said her children are being cared for by a relative. A spokeswoman for Denver Department of Human Services would not confirm the status of the children, citing privacy laws.

A woman in the neighborhood, who also asked to remain anonymous, said Martinez indicated there were plumbing problems in the house, and the back of the home was not being used.

The family spent a great deal of time in the back yard, where a tent was set up, the woman said.

Martinez's next court appearance is scheduled for May 16.