Police: Children Found Inside Filthy, Roach-Infested Home

Officers checking on the welfare of a 22-month-old boy and his school-aged sister found them in a filthy home infested with cockroaches and spiders, police said.

When officers entered at the house, they said they were overcome by the odor of cat urine and feces that permeated throughout the home.

The children’s mother, Ethel Fay Hampton, took officers to a dark bedroom where her 22-month-old son was asleep in a crib. When an officer turned on his flashlight to see the young child, cockroaches scattered from the crib.

Police said there were spider webs and swarms of baby spiders above the child’s crib. The baby was examined by a physician, who told investigators that he appeared to be suffering from several insect bites and possibly one spider bite.

Hampton, 40, and her brother, Rex Earl Hampton, 45, of the 500 block of North Fifth Street were arrested on suspicion of negligent child abuse and are being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center with bonds set at $10,000 each. According to ABC-7 archives, Rex Earl Hampton was convicted of criminal sexual contact of a minor, a third-degree felony, in April 2001.

Officers found moldy food on the floor and numerous live and dead roaches inside the refrigerator. Investigators learned that Ethel Hampton had eight cats in the home, but recently removed five that were ill.

The Hamptons’ 77-year-old mother also lived in the home. Ethel Hampton’s mother and daughter did not appear to have any injuries.

Ethel Hampton’s children are now in the custody of the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department. The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.