By: Devin Fry
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Fargo couple is facing felony charges after authorities say they found their two young children living in filthy, dangerous conditions.
Branden Alexander Brekkestran, 33, and Silas Marshall Eells, 28, both of Fargo, were each charged Monday with one count of child neglect, a Class C felony, in Cass County District Court.
According to court documents, Cass County Child Protective Services requested a welfare check March 16 after a report that one of the children had been showing up to school in dirty clothes, appearing unkempt and smelling poorly.
When they arrived at the home, Brekkestran answered the door and warned officers the house was “in bad condition” before allowing them inside.
What officers found inside was described in the incident report as overwhelming. The home was filled with trash piled in nearly every room, with food smashed into the carpet. The only functional exit was the front door, two other exits were blocked by furniture and a board screwed across a door.
The children’s bedroom had no beds. The two children were sleeping on a thin foam mattress cover with food crushed into it and a blanket covered in what appeared to be feces. Officers say the walls and ceiling of the room were also splattered with a substance that appeared to be feces.
The home had no running water. The bathroom, according to the report, contained a children’s toilet with dried feces inside, a bathtub filled with a yellowish liquid, human waste, and other debris, and an overflowing main toilet.
he two children were taken into protective custody and transferred to CPS workers on scene. Brekkestran and Eells were then placed under arrest.
Court records indicate this is not the first time the pair has had their children removed from their care. Both defendants are being held in custody and are scheduled for arraignment Tuesday afternoon.
