A Texas mother is facing charges after authorities said they found her 11-year-old son living in squalid conditions and suffering from malnutrition.
Rachel Blaylock, 41, was arrested on October 8 after a Baytown Police Department officer responded to a welfare check and found her 11-year-old son with dried feces all over his body, including on his arms, face and hands, according to Harris County court documents obtained by Fox 26 Houston.
The officer reported that the smell in the home, which was also covered in dried fecal matter, was so bad she “nearly threw up.”
Blaylock’s 11-year-old son has autism and is non-verbal, Fox 26 Houston reports. Medical records included in the court documents state his teeth were also decaying because of malnutrition and neglect.
He also weighed just 46 pounds, while the average boy of his age weighs 88 pounds, the records said.
When the officer said the 11-year-old needed to be taken to the hospital, Blaylock allegedly responded: “I just can’t drop everything I’m f****** doing and take him to the hospital so a quack a** doctor can say, ‘oh I don’t know what’s wrong with him,’ so we can see another one.”
Blaylock has been charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury. Her bond was set at $250,000, and her next court appearance is set for November 18, according to public court records.
Blaylock told the Baytown police officer her son had trouble using the bathroom and would instead use it in his room, according to the documents obtained by Fox 26 Houston. In his bedroom, Blaylock removed the door and installed a screen door — which she kept locked — so she could keep an eye on her son, the documents said.
The officer reported seeing fecal matter around the bedroom and on the screen door. The mattress was also described as “filthy” in court records.
The officer also reportedly spoke with the child’s grandmother, who said the boy didn’t get baths regularly and never went to school because he wasn’t potty-trained and often took his clothes off.
The grandmother allegedly told the officer she usually couldn’t unlock the screen door, so couldn’t bring him food during the day, the documents state. She also said Blaylock “is not a good mom,” court documents state.
The Independent has contacted Blaylock’s attorney, the Baytown Police Department and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for comment.
