MANCHESTER, NH – Five children were removed from the care of their parents and grandmother after a property manager reported to police that a tenant refused to let him in to check on a leak, and the apartment was later found by authorities to be unsafe due to infestation of bugs and flies, excessive trash, and the presence of feces and mold.
On September 10, 2021, Manchester Police responded to 190 Spruce Street, Apt #2 to check on the condition of several children.
The property manager told police that he was trying to fix a leak that was coming from the second floor, but the tenant refused to let him inside. He told officers that the apartment had cockroaches inside and out and he could hear several children inside.
From the outside, officers could see a swarm of bugs and flies hovering around the exterior second-floor apartment windows and when they went up to the door they smelled a distinct stench coming from the unit.
A woman, later identified as 37-year-old Alicia Washok, opened the door but would not immediately cooperate and refused to let officers inside. While officers stood at the door a young child came out. The child was covered in filth and had a bad odor.
Officers explained that by law they needed to check the inside of the apartment for the well-being of the children. Inside, officers found trash covering the floor, flies and bugs on the ceilings and walls, and what appeared to be feces near the crib and moldy food where children slept. Police determined that the apartment was unsafe for the five children inside, ages 2 to 6.
The children were taken to Elliot Hospital for observation and Washok, her husband 44-year-old Eddie King, and, Washok’s 62-year-old mother, Lori Harmon, were all arrested and charged with reckless conduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Washok and Harmon were also charged with resisting arrest.
