Marysville Police Say 5-Year-Old Lived In House Of Filth

MARYSVILLE (CBS13) - A domestic disturbance call leads Marysville police to a disturbing discovery of what they're calling a house of filth.

Police say a 5-year-old girl was living in garbage. Her mom is now in police custody.

The floor wasn't even visible with all the filth. A neighbor's video at the apartment's open front door shows heaps of trash, leaving no place to walk.

Marysville police say they found three feet of garbage and household items stacked in every single room.

"You seen the movies or the TV show for hoarders? It was very similar to that," said neighbor Lorena Jones.

Cops say these were the living conditions for Alyson Leonard's 5-year-old daughter, who is now in protective custody.

Officers responding to a domestic call say they also found a glass container with a tarantula in the little girl's room.

"Things that were collected and stacked all over the place, like you couldn't walk through the house without stepping on something," said Jones.

Neighbors were shocked, saying they had no idea of the conditions inside the apartment. They say Leonard seems like a good mother, often playing with her children; and that her 5-year-old always seemed happy and clean. They also admit they'd never seen inside the apartment before.

"She's good to her daughter, couldn't ask for a better mother," friend Joyce Hampson said.

Leonard is out on bail, but wouldn't come to the door.

However, it turns out that's common. Neighbors say even before her arrest she never let anyone in the apartment, keeping her alleged secret house of filth behind closed doors.

"I know she has problems, but she needs help instead of being condemned all the time," said Hampson.

But one officer tells CBS13, the Marysville mom had her 5-year-old girl in the worst conditions he's seen in a long time.

Police say Leonard's daughter was not injured and is now in Child Protective Services custody. Leonard is due in court on Feb. 26.