Court docs: Abuse charges after kids strapped in car seats with roaches

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — A Wyoming couple is charged collectively with nine counts of child abuse after their kids were found confined in booster seats with cockroaches crawling on them, court documents show.

The documents filed last week with the court in Wyoming name Britney Morgan Melton and Aaron Eugene Nordstrom as defendants.

Melton is charged with three counts of fourth-degree child abuse and a count of lying to a peace officer, with the documents saying she lied to or misled police to believe her children were being watched by a friend. She is also accused of using a harness and knotted string to confine at least three of her kids in booster seats, “making it impossible for child to avoid roaches and other insects that were present,” the document says.

Nordstrom was also charged in connection to the kids being tied into the booster seats around the roaches. In addition, he is accused of leaving 4-, 3- and 1-year-old children at home unsupervised. The documents state all three were found outside of their home and the 4-year-old was wandering in the street when police arrived.

The criminal complaint lists an additional business near the couple’s home as a place where one or more of the alleged crimes occurred.

Neighbors in the mobile home community where the couple lives told News 8 that the two were always fighting. One said she saw Melton pull her oldest girl inside by the hair after she refused to come home.

Wyoming police declined to comment, telling News 8 that the investigation is ongoing and additional charges may follow.

The two are expected to be back in court next week for a pretrial hearing.

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