Mom Calls Her Feral Kids “Garbage Disposals With Legs”

Mom Calls Her Feral Kids “Garbage Disposals With Legs”

In the news: six children were found living in filth with dozens of animals and barely any food.

On April 23, 2023, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Officers Winfelder and Rosenfeld of the Pennridge Regional Police Department responded to the Green Top Manufactured Home Community, located at 675 Roseanne Lane in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

According to official documents, a complaint had been called in regarding two juveniles who had entered an abandoned trailer and removed items from it. Upon arriving, the officers found a 12-year-old girl in the front yard of 655 Roseanne Lane, directly next door to the aforementioned abandoned trailer.

Because the children in this story were never publicly named, we will refer to them by the identification codes used by police and in official documents. Each code consists of the letters “JV,” signifying that the person is a juvenile, followed by a number indicating the child’s order of birth.

The girl known as JV3 was barefoot and wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled over her head. She told the officers that she had social anxiety, explained that her parents had told the children not to go into the abandoned trailer, and tried to take full responsibility for her actions.

She went on to tell the officers that she had only sneaked inside to take a blanket to keep her rats warm because her family did not have much money left. A 14-year-old girl known as JV2 then appeared from behind the abandoned neighboring trailer. She was wearing large work boots that were far too big for her feet, along with clothing that appeared dirty.

The officers contacted the girls’ parents, 47-year-old Shane Robertson and 37-year-old Crystal Robertson, who arrived home within half an hour. While waiting for their parents, JV2 and JV3 admitted that they had entered the derelict trailer several times. Once again, they stressed that their family did not have very much money.

Based on the appearance of both girls, the officers asked to see the family’s living arrangements. Upon entering the trailer, Crystal told them that the children were going through so much food that she had been forced to put a lock on the refrigerator. She claimed that her children were stealing everything from her—as if your own children can actually steal food from you. She then referred to her children as, and this is a direct quote, “garbage disposals with legs.”

Crystal was not lying, at least about the lock. A bicycle lock was indeed holding the refrigerator door shut. Because the officers needed to inspect its contents, Shane went to his vehicle to retrieve Crystal’s purse, where the key was kept. The lock was removed, and very little food was found inside.

Shane then called for his 16-year-old daughter, known as JV1, who emerged from her bedroom at her father’s request. The girl appeared unkempt. Shane claimed that she was the last daughter he had, but that was a lie. Shane and Crystal Robertson had seven children in total, all crammed inside their filthy trailer.

Before long, workers from the Bucks County Children and Youth Social Services Agency arrived to address the officers’ concerns. The responding officers returned to the Robertson home at approximately 5:00 p.m. that same day after social workers discovered four additional children hiding in the rear bedroom of the trailer.

When the officers questioned Shane about why he had not been truthful regarding his six daughters and one son, he claimed that he did not want to get into trouble. Trouble, however, was exactly what Shane and Crystal Robertson were now facing.

Hidden inside the trailer were 10-, 8-, and 4-year-old girls, as well as a 6-year-old boy. They were identified as JV4, JV5, JV6, and JV7. Because they were all in very poor condition, they were taken to Grand View Hospital for evaluation.

According to the responding officers, all of the children except JV2 were clinically malnourished, and many of them were ill. JV6 had a dangerous abscess in his mouth and 13 visible cavities, requiring five extractions and five crowns.

One official explained: “As part of the medical treatment the children received, there were significant dental-health issues, as well as problems involving eye care and malnourishment.”

According to officers, the only notable food found in the home was intended for the animals, which we will discuss a little later. JV5 and JV7 tested positive for a virus. JV1 and JV7 had low kidney function. JV2, JV3, and JV5 had fevers and were diagnosed with acute viral syndrome. JV1, JV2, JV3, and JV5 were found to have poor eyesight and needed glasses. JV3 had maggots in her hair.

It was learned that during the summer of 2023, JV3 had suffered a sunburn on her scalp and neck and could not brush her hair because of the pain. Eventually, she was unable to brush or wash it, and it became severely matted. After the maggots were discovered, most of JV3’s hair had to be shaved because the matting and infestation were so severe. Another child also had to have most of her hair shaved because it was badly matted. JV7 was ultimately diagnosed with ringworm.

Investigators later discovered that none of the seven children had received any formal education, and all of them lacked basic knowledge. Some did not even know their own birth dates. Four of the children had speech impediments, and all of them struggled with reading, writing, and spelling. They exhibited social anxiety and disclosed that they did not like being in public or around other people.

Essentially, Shane and Crystal kept seven feral children as prisoners. Thankfully, all seven were placed in foster care. It has been reported that during their first week in foster care, each of the younger children gained two pounds.

According to official documents, Shane and Crystal’s bedroom contained a bed in the middle of the room, surrounded by several animal cages. The sheets appeared not to have been washed in months, and the floor was littered with garbage. I am sure it smelled wonderful. Apparently, the home was also infested with insects. No surprise there.

The back bedroom adjacent to Shane and Crystal’s room was blocked by a broken washing machine. It had no door and was cluttered with dirty clothing and garbage scattered across the floor. The trailer was in such a dilapidated condition that Crystal had fallen through the floor in front of her bedroom a few months earlier.

In fact, the floors consisted of bare plywood and would sink so far in certain areas that the dirt beneath the trailer could be seen. The walls were essentially disintegrating.

The third bedroom had feces on the floor in front of its entrance. A filthy mattress lay in the center of the room with a dirty blanket on top of it. While photographing the room, a responding officer found feces on the blanket. The room also housed approximately two dozen rats in two separate cages.

Elsewhere in the home, officers found two dogs, two turtles, two rabbits, snakes, toads, and a tegu. For anyone unfamiliar with a tegu, we will show one on screen now.

Police also stated that there were no cleaning products in the trailer, including personal-care items. According to official documents, the bathroom contained no soap, toothpaste, or other hygiene products for the people living there. The cabinets were in extremely poor condition, and the oven looked as though it had never been cleaned. At this point in the story, none of this surprises me anymore.

Shane and Crystal Robertson were arrested and charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the mistreatment of JV7, because the child was under the age of six, and six counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child relating to the rest of their children. All of the charges were felonies.

It remains unclear what happened to the family’s pets, as the Robertsons were not charged with animal cruelty. The couple were booked into the county jail on May 19, 2023, and released the following day after posting $10,000 bail. I guess they really did have some money after all.

Their preliminary hearings were scheduled for May 29, 2023, but were later postponed until August 7. Because the case was still developing at the time of the original report, updates were expected as more information became available.

We had quite literally just covered the case of Katie and Joel Mankey and thought that case was horrible enough. To encounter two cases during the same period that were so similar was absolutely horrifying.

In the previous case, concerned citizens acted quickly when they sensed that something was wrong. Thankfully, several neighbors also acted in the case of the Robertson children. Still, no one knows how long these conditions had continued. Police were grateful that a concerned neighbor who saw one of the children called 911.

Mother of four Tammy DeHaven became concerned after seeing a neighbor’s child who appeared malnourished entering an abandoned trailer in Sellersville. She decided to call the police.

“I figured the trailer park could not do anything about it,” she explained, “so I thought I would call the police and see whether they could come in and do something.”

When an interviewer asked what she would say to the parents, DeHaven replied: “I—I just… How could you do that to a child? I hope they are taken care of. That is what they deserve. They deserve to be children. It is horrible. I do not understand how parents could do that to their children.”

So, what do you think should happen in this case? If this was truly a case of poverty, how were Shane and Crystal able to post bail and afford all of those exotic animals? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.