Child lived alone, in filth, with 7 dogs for nearly a year after her parents moved and left her behind

Mom and Stepdad Arrested After Allegedly Moving Away and Leaving Daughter Alone in Home Filled with Dog Feces and Urine

Marchelle Lynn Pertilla; Eugene Medrano/Mobile County Metro Jail

A mother and stepfather are facing child abuse charges after officials said they moved to Florida, leaving their 14-year-old daughter, with special needs, behind in a roach-infested, filth-riddled home for nearly a year.

According to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the teenager was left to live alone with seven dogs in a mobile home covered in urine, feces, roaches, and trash. Officials said one of the dogs was found dead in a closet.

What began with a worried store employee noticing a quiet, underweight teen quickly turned into a disturbing scene.

Dollar General assistant manager Jessica Smitherman saw the girl at the store around 8:30 Sunday morning. She realized something was terribly wrong.

“She had looked like she hadn’t had a bath in months, she had dog hair all over her clothes she smelled very bad. She was staggering,” said Smitherman. “I could definitely tell something was wrong so I sat her down in a chair outside the store and started asking her some questions asking her if I can call her mom, if there was anything I can do. She ended up saying she wanted me to call the ambulance.”

That call led to an investigation by the sheriff’s office.

At the hospital, detectives interviewed the teen, and she claimed that she had been living alone at her home with the dogs since about February of last year and that she had not seen her mother and stepfather since Oct. 31. She also alleged that they had moved to Pensacola, Fla., without her, per KOLD.

During a search of the home, detectives allegedly found a handwritten letter authored by the girl. “How many times Mom tells me that she can’t pick me up!” it read, followed by 87 dash marks, cops said.

Mobile County Sheriff’s Office

Authorities have identified the mother and stepfather as Eugene Medrano and Marchelle Lynn Pertilla and say they are accused of moving to Florida and leaving the girl in Alabama with her dogs.

A separate report on the case highlights how the teen, who was reportedly homeschooled, had no regular contact with teachers or school staff who might have noticed something was wrong, a gap that made it easier for the situation to drag on unnoticed.

Eugene Medrano and Marchelle Lynn Pertilla were arrested and charged with child abuse and animal cruelty after deputies pieced together how long the teen had been on her own.

The mother and stepfather were later transported to Mobile County Metro, where they are facing formal charges tied to both the child’s living conditions and the treatment of the animals.

The case has stunned even seasoned law enforcement officers and raised hard questions about how a child could slip so far through the cracks.

“We are continuing to search for answers on why this young girl was living alone and whether or not others tried calling law enforcement,” Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said in a statement.

“Thank goodness for the employee with Dollar General who contacted the county, and we were able to respond. If you see something, say something. It could mean the difference between life or death,” he added.

As the charges against the parents move through the courts, the girl is now out of that house, the dogs are in the care of animal welfare workers, and a community that once looked past a quiet teenager is now reeling with what was missed.

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