Casper Woman Arrested for Aggravated Battery, Child Endangerment
A Casper woman was arrested Tuesday evening after an argument turned physical and she allegedly cut her adult son with two knives, prompting a police response during which four children were found living in "deplorable" conditions.
Charmaine L. Parker, 40, was booked into jail on recommended charges of aggravated battery, domestic battery and four counts of child endangerment. She will likely make her initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the alleged victim called police shortly before 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and reported that his mother was kicking him out of their house. When officers arrived at the home, the man reported that his mother, Parker, had cut him twice on his left hand.
The victim explained that he and Parker had been arguing over a cell phone, and that argument resulted in Parker telling the man to leave the house. The victim packed his belongings and the argument continued.
According to the victim's statement to officers, Parker asked his younger brother to go get a red knife from the kitchen. The boy returned with the knife and handed it to Parker, who then used it to "poke" the victim on the left side of his abdomen.
The poke left no mark on the man. He then grabbed for the handle in an effort to get the knife away from Parker, and she pulled the knife back resulting in a cut to the victim's middle finger.
Later, as the altercation ensued and the victim gathered additional belongings, a nearly identical incident occurred with a different knife. Parker ultimately pushed the victim out of the house and slammed the door in his face.
Officers entered the home after a prolonged, unsuccessful effort to contact Parker, who was still inside with children who are 14, 12, seven and five years old respectively. Parker was handcuffed.
During a safety sweep of the home, police officers found the residence to be in "deplorable" condition. Clothing, toys and filth were reportedly scattered all over two upstairs rooms to the point that the floor was hardly visible. The bathroom stunk of urine and feces, and the floor was covered in toiled paper which appeared to be soaked with urine and feces. The toilet evidently was not working.
Parker was taken to jail. "Random splatters of food" covered the walls of the home, the top of the stove was piled with old burned food as well as new food and a basement bathroom was found in the same "vile" condition as the upstairs bathroom.
Two knives were found in a kitchen drawer, and the victim identified them as the knives with which he had been cut.
A DFS worker responded and interviewed multiple children. Four children were taken into protective custody and delivered to a friend of Parker. Metro Animal Control was asked to take custody of a dog and two cats found in the home.