A couple has been arrested and was charged after authorities allegedly found a 1-year-old baby and an elderly man living in “deplorable” conditions inside a Florida home infested with roaches and mold.
Authorities first became aware of the situation when a welfare check was requested on the 81-year-old man who lived on the property in Nicholas Anthony Cummings i We lost Driaunah Brown Tuesday, January 13. When the Flagler County Fire Rescue Unit arrived at the scene, they found the home smelling horrible and filled with “heaps of debris, trash” and “cockroach droppings.”
As the rescue unit tried to help the elderly man, cockroaches “emerged from the mattress and the clothes that the elderly man was wearing,” according to the police report, by Law and crime. They also noted that the mattress appeared to have been “defeated and urinated on, countless times.”
While searching the rest of the house, which was also covered in trash and “sticky surfaces,” officers found a one-year-old baby sleeping in a playpen in the living room.
“Cockroaches and insects were observed crawling over (the 1-year-old boy) while he was sleeping,” the report said.
A Missouri couple has been arrested after police discovered they were living in a filthy home with their four malnourished foster children. Stacey Laura-Louise Castleman and Erik Aleister Castleman were arrested on December 27, 2025 and charged with multiple counts of child abuse or neglect and endangering the welfare of a (…)
When Brown, 31, was asked to show officers the “necessary food for the child,” they “immediately observed mold growing in the refrigerator and on clearly expired food.”
Detectives returned to the Florida home the next day and found the home and child in similar condition with “multiple cockroaches” inside the Pack ‘n Play. In an attempt to alleviate the bug problem, Brown allegedly sprayed Raid spray throughout the house.
“More specifically, every night he turns (the 1-year-old’s) portable enclosure upside down to shake off the bugs,” the report continued. “(Brown) then places (the 1-year-old) back inside and sprays a closed ‘protective’ circle of Raid Roach Spray around the immediate base of the enclosure.”
Additionally, during the investigation, detectives “repeatedly removed bugs” they saw near the child, but bugs continued to “endlessly” come from the “premium fabric.”
According to Raid’s web sitesprays should only be applied in the home when children and pets are outside or in another room. At this point windows should be opened to “thoroughly ventilate the room” and product labels should be read for instructions on how long the spray takes to dry so they can understand how long residents and animals need to stay away from treated areas.
The old man’s room was supposedly not in the best condition. It had an “overwhelming stench” of urine, according to the report. He was reportedly alert but unable to move to the bathroom or even change his dirty clothes. The situation was so bad that “bugs were seen coming out of his socks and scabs on his legs,” according to the detectives’ affidavit.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staley released to statement confirming that the “deplorable” living conditions were “no place for a small child or an elderly person with serious medical problems”.
He continued: “These two feigned ignorance about the garbage, feces and bugs covering the floors, walls and victims of the home. It wasn’t about the money, they didn’t care about the hygiene of their home, the well-being of their child or the medical needs of their family members. They put in zero effort.”
The pair were arrested on Wednesday, January 14 and both charged with “neglect of an elderly or disabled person without great bodily harm” and one count of “cruelty to a child without great bodily harm.” Both are felony charges.
Cummings, 32, and Brown were initially held on $15,000 bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Detention Center. according to court recordsCummings was released on Thursday, January 15, and Brown posted bail the following day and was released on Friday, January 16.
They are scheduled to return to court on February 4.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Helpline for children at 1-800-422-4453.