By Nathan Hanson / Forum News Service
ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – When Rosemount police went to Ramona Murphy’s house they found a sink stacked with dirty dishes, food scraps scattered on the floor nearly everywhere they looked, and flies swarming the kitchen and covering the living room ceiling.
They also found deadbolt locks on the outside of the bedrooms used by Murphy’s four children.
Murphy, 38, now has been charged with child neglect and child endangerment for the condition of the home.
Police went to Murphy’s home with a search warrant Aug. 7 while working with the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Murphy’s husband, Steven, who also lives in the home, is a registered sex offender.
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According to a complaint filed in the Dakota County attorney’s office, the home’s front door was completely blocked. Besides the swarming flies, six fly strips hanging around the house were covered with trapped insects. Steven Murphy told police the flies had just hatched that morning. He said there had previously been a problem with flies but that they had gone away.
Steven Murphy also suggested the flies could have come from a hole in the kitchen wall. He said mice had gotten in through the hole, which was the size of a 50-cent piece, and he had put poison inside to get rid of them. The poison was spilling out onto the stove when police were at the house.
Rosemount’s fire marshal noted 19 safety violations in the home and according to the complaint listed the home a four out of five on a scale designed to evaluate hoarding behavior.
The Murphys’ oldest child told police his mother would sometimes lock them in their bedroom when they got into trouble.
All four children were placed into foster care.
If convicted on either charge, Ramona Murphy could face up to a year in jail and fines of up to $3,000.
