Parents Charged After Child Found in ‘Putrid’ Home

MAPLEWOOD (AP) - The parents of a toddler have been charged with child neglect after Maplewood police say they found them highly intoxicated and their house uninhabitable.

Police were called to the house by the landlord Monday. Officers say the smell inside was so overwhelming they had trouble breathing. A criminal complaint filed Wednesday says police found garbage, rotting food and dirty diapers strewn about the house.

The complaint says 23-year-old Rebecca Koecher was found passed out and "almost lying atop" of her 22-month-old son. It says the child's 27-year-old father, Clayton Johnson, was also found to be highly intoxicated.

The parents were taken to a detox center and the boy to Children's Hospital in St. Paul.

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