MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — As Rutherford County Sheriff's deputies talked with Melinda Fultz in late April, two of her young boys came to the door.
The deputy noticed the boys looked "extremely filthy" and had "multiple bruises" and "30 plus bug bites," according to his report.
He asked Fultz to see the house. When he stepped inside he discovered a mess.
He saw "dog feces on the floor, large piles of clothes and trash scattered about the house, along with bugs on the walls." By that evening Melinda Fultz was charged with three counts of felony child abuse and neglect for a child under six years old.
Matthew Valdes, who also lived in the home, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse or neglect.
The deputy called the Department of Children's Services, and the four young children, ages 1, 2, 3, and 7 were removed.
Video obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates shows the condition of the home days after the arrest. Trash bags were piled up in the kitchen. Dog waste and even old dirty diapers were ground into the floor.
Bridget Lafleur said she made multiple complaints to DCS about the home over the last year and a half, but DCS never removed the kids.
"I burst into tears the day I found out they were arrested. I said, 'Thank God. We can finally get them out of there,'" Lafleur said. "It's appalling. It's disgusting and uninhabitable."
Lafleur is engaged to Melinda Fultz's brother and had visited the home several times. She showed NewsChannel 5 Investigates complaints she filed with DCS that she said were marked as closed hours later.
"This is the first report that I sent through the DCS website," Lafleur said.
DCS said in a statement it could not comment on the specific case, but a closed case indicates it was investigated, and sometimes services like "assistance with clean-up and parenting education" are provided.
DCS also stated, "after a case is closed it doesn't have jurisdiction to continue random checks."
Lafleur said there is no excuse for letting kids live in the home after multiple reports about problems.
"They did nothing. They literally read the report and made it go away," Lafleur said.
She read a past text from Fultz she said showed Fultz knew DCS would not do anything.
"And the cops told me that DCS will be getting involved. Doesn't matter, they're not going to do anything. We've seen them multiple times, remember? Ha Ha," Lafleur said reading the text.
Now Lafleur and her fiancée are caring for all four young children in their townhouse. After the arrests, they agreed to take the kids as part of a Temporary Emergency Placement.
"I need them to be together. I need them to be happy. I need them not to be separated in group homes or not knowing they are loved," Lafleur said.
But Lafleur and her fiancée get no money from the state despite taking on four young kids with severe medical and emotional needs.
"We can't provide all of that. We need help with that, and the state is just like 'You share blood, you figure it out,'" Lafleur said.
DCS said in a statement "We are thankful when relatives step forward and assume care for children" and under state law "payments to a relative caregiver begin once the final custody order is issued ... which can take several months."
Some lawmakers have said relatives who care for kids should receive payments just like foster parents receive financial support from the state. Lafleur agrees.
"Children are not free. It's an extreme expense," she said. "We have three teenagers. We are getting married in 30 days. We already had the stress of all of that, and now we are taking on four children."
Lafleur worries the state failed the four young kids by leaving them in the home for there so long, and now it is failing them again by not helping with the care they desperately need.
STATEMENT FROM DCS:
"When DCS receives calls to the hotline, case managers respond, and assess the placement of services in the home to mitigate the removal of children. These services may include, paying for exterminators, assistance with clean up, parenting education, and counseling support, etc.
DCS conducts follow-up visits, prior to case closure, to ensure the home condition has improved and is safe. After a case is closed, the agency doesn’t have the jurisdiction to continue random checks. We rely on the community to report their concerns that a child may be unsafe. Federal and State confidentially laws limit the agency from sharing information on the progress/outcomes of the investigation. The law is written as such that payments to a relative caregiver begin once the final custody court order is issued, which in some cases may take several months. We are thankful when relatives step forward to assume care for children and look to support them in their efforts."
