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Orlando mother arrested after 5 children found living in deplorable conditions

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando mother was arrested and charged with child neglect after investigators said they found her children living in deplorable conditions Wednesday.

Channel 9’s Karla Ray got photos taken by investigators inside Yolander Lasane’s home on Piedmont Court in Pine Hills.

The photos show a life of filth, including beds soaked in urine with no sheets, and floors covered in trash and dog feces.

The children, the youngest of which is 5-years-old, had been living in the conditions for several years, officials said.

“It hurts me right now in my hearts to see what these kids went through,” neighbor Mary Sutton said.

Investigators discovered Lasane’s oldest child, who is 17-years-old, left for three weeks and was never reported missing.

Police were called to the neighborhood for a stolen bike and called the Department of Children and Families when they noticed the condition of the home.

DCF officials checked on the house and noticed the 17-year-old was missing so they called the police, who arrested Lasane.

WFTV learned investigators had to use a shovel to remove the trash in order to get inside the house.

According to the arrest report the smell from inside the home was overwhelming, and black mold was growing in the kitchen around what little food the kids had to eat.

When police showed up to remove the children, they said one begged for a new family.

The Department of Children and Families has been working with the family for about a month, but couldn’t remove the children without giving the mother a chance.

“The last thing we want to do is have to remove children from their home. We want to maintain them in the home when we can safely do that,” said Kristi Gray with DCF.

The home has been condemned.