Girl living alone in squalid home after parents left wrote heartbreaking note

A girl left to live alone in horrific conditions when her parents moved state without her wrote a note that exposes her heartbreaking struggle. The handwritten title read ‘How many times mom tells me that she can’t pick me up!’ Below it were more than 80 tally marks. Investigators later said that the note captured the emotional weight of a horrible situation that had been hidden for many months. The 14-year-old girl had been living alone in a filthy Alabama mobile home while her mum and partner moved to Florida,

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Daily Mail reports. (Pictures: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

Authorities report that the girl with special needs was effectively abandoned for almost a year. Her mother Marchelle Lynn Pertilla and stepfather Eugene Medrano allegedly relocated to The Sunshine State last year, leaving the child behind with seven dogs. According to police, the girl remained in the mobile home without adult supervision, regular medical care or proper living conditions. She told police she had been living alone since around her 14th birthday last February. Halloween was the last time she saw either parent in person. From that point on, contact was limited to messages and occasional grocery deliveries. (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

The case only came to light after a chance encounter outside a Dollar General store in Mobile County earlier this month. Employees noticed a young girl struggling along a nearby road. Something about her appearance and behavior immediately raised concern. Witness Jessica Smitherman said the girl appeared weak and unwell. ‘She said that her stomach hurt,’ Smitherman told CNY Central News. ‘She kept saying her stomach was hurting, that she passes out a lot.’ Staff said it was obvious she needed medical attention and they decided to call 911. (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

Smitherman later described how alarming the situation was. ‘She had looked like she hadn’t had a bath in months, she had dog hair all over her clothes and she smelled very bad. She was staggering.’ She said that she sat the girl down outside the store and tried to help. ‘I could definitely tell something was wrong, so I sat her down in a chair outside the store and started asking her some questions,’ she said. ‘She ended up saying she wanted me to call an ambulance.’ (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

Police officers who arrived found a 14-year-old girl who appeared disoriented, dizzy, malnourished and in pain. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment. While receiving care, she reportedly told detectives she’d been living alone for months and was supposedly being homeschooled. She said her mother and stepfather had moved to Vivian Drive in the Brent area of Escambia County in Florida, roughly an hour’s drive away. She explained that she stayed in contact with her mother through Snapchat and relied on occasional food deliveries sent by them to survive. (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

That information triggered a search warrant for the mobile home. When investigators and animal control officers entered the property on January 5, they described conditions that were difficult to comprehend. Floors were covered in dirt, animal feces and insects. Garbage filled multiple rooms. A bathtub contained dark brown water. Clothing and debris were scattered everywhere including the girl’s sleeping area. One dog was found dead inside a closet. Six other dogs were removed alive by Prichard Animal Control. Officials said the home was clearly unsafe to live in. (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch said the emotional impact of the case was impossible to ignore. ‘It’s a horrific case,’ he told CNY. ‘This is physical abuse, but I would say it’s more emotional abuse, you know.’ He added that the abandonment itself was truly devastating. ‘For a child that age – because I have one not too much younger than that – I can’t imagine the emotional part of just knowing your parents just leave you to fend for yourself.’ (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

When detectives later located Pertilla and Medrano at the hospital, investigators said that the couple had attempted to downplay what had happened. According to authorities, the parents claimed that the girl stayed behind because she didn’t want to leave her animals behind. ‘A 14 year-old doesn’t get to make that decision if you’re a parent,’ he said. ‘The parents should have stepped up and did the right thing.’ (Picture: Mobile County Metro Jail)

Both Pertilla and Medrano, who were employed in Pensacola, were arrested on charges of child abuse and multiple counts of animal cruelty. They were booked into the Mobile County Metro Jail. Since their arrest, CNY reports two other children who had been living with the couple in Florida have been removed from their care. Authorities said the wider investigation remains ongoing as they continue to review the circumstances. (Picture: Mobile County Metro Jail)

The teenage girl is now in the care of Alabama’s Department of Human Resources and is receiving consistent support from adults. Sheriff Burch said that the outcome could have been far worse without intervention from store employees. He praised their decision to act quickly. ‘Thank goodness for the employee with Dollar General who contacted the county,’ he said. ‘If you see something, say something. It could mean the difference between life and death…’ (Picture: Mobile County Sheriff’s Office)

Girl living alone in squalid home after parents left wrote heartbreaking note

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