Police are investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy who fell from the window of a Hartford apartment Saturday and police documents about the case reveal more about the state of the living conditions, which officers described as abysmal.
Officers responded to the apartment in the 1000 block of Capitol Avenue on Saturday, July 22 after receiving a report that a child had fallen out of a window. The child was in critical condition after falling and police said Monday that he had died.
Police said the child’s mother had left five children between the ages of 2 and 12 home alone while she went to a store to get food and diapers.
One officer who went into the home reported a stench of moldy food in the apartment, a lot of bugs and flies, garbage on the floors, and curdled liquids in the sink and toilets, according to police documents.
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Another officer reported the apartment was “filthy” and the living conditions were “horrendous.”
He said a black substance covered large parts of the floor and his boots stuck to the ground.
The officer also noted moldy food, dirty dishes piled in the sink and trash spilling out onto the floor from open trash bags.
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Another officer reported a foul odor on the stairs, which got stronger as the officer approached the apartment, and piles of soiled clothing on the floor in each room, including the kitchen.
The officer reported a strong odor of urine and feces coming from the bedrooms, and swarms of insects throughout the apartment.
The children are now in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families.
A police report says DCF had responded to the address around a month earlier and the condition of the apartment was not that abysmal.
The children’s mother, Tabitha Frank, 34, was arrested and charged with 10 counts of risk of injury to a minor. Authorities said she was charged with two counts of risk of injury per child -- one for leaving them unattended and one for the condition of the apartment.
DCF said earlier this week that it is conducting a joint investigation with the Hartford Police Department.
The Office of the Child Advocate said it is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the tragic death.
They said the review will include an examination of the role of publicly funded state and local agencies with the child and his family, as well as a review of the conditions of the home and safety of the environment at the time he died.
