In 2007, police entered the Blackstone, Massachusetts, house of squalor, where three dead infants were discovered among piles of trash, dead animals, feces and vermin last week, according to a new report.
The focus of the investigation in Blackstone has moved beyond the house of squalor. Town officials did a final walk-through Tuesday.
Police say they responded to several calls in recent years.
In a police report obtained by NECN, Blackstone police did enter the home back in 2007 because of a complaint of an intoxicated woman. Her name was redacted from that report and there is no mention of squalid conditions back then, but that was more than seven years ago.
Other police log entries for the home include an Aug. 2011 entry in which police and an animal control officer responded to a call from a concerned neighbor about the condition of a dog in the backyard. Police said based on conditions found at the scene, officers had no reason to enter the home.
Officials have said the tab for the bio-hazard removal and "hoarding work" totals more than a combined $17,500; the figure doesn't include police details overtime, fencing and other costs.
Erika Murray, who lived in the Blackstone home, is being held without bail on charges including fetal death concealment after the deaths of those three infants.
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A 5-month-old baby, a 3-year-old toddler, a 10-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl lived in the home. State officials removed them from the home last month.
According to a witness who called police, the 10 year old who lived on the house came to her to ask how to get a baby to stop crying.
"She was lying in the middle of the bed, completely covered in feces," said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified, of the baby she found in the home. "Feces all on the wall. I was walking on dirty diapers to get to her."
According to Murray’s Lawyer, she is currently being held in a treatment unit for women who could pose a danger to themselves.
On Monday, Sept. 22, there will be a Board of Health meeting and on Tuesday, Sept. 23, the Board of Health will brief the Board of Selectman on the progress.
