Police: NH couple facing charges after 5 children found living in feces-covered home

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A New Hampshire couple was arrested Thursday after five children, including one who was trapped in a room, were found living in a squalid home earlier this month, law enforcement officials said.

Steven Legault, 36, and Candace Krauklin, 35, both of Manchester, are slated to be arraigned Friday in Hillsborough Superior Court-North on charges including felony criminal restraint and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Manchester Police Department. Krauklin also faces a felony charge of witness tampering, according to the Manchester Police Department.

Officers were called to a home at 407 Lake Avenue in Manchester on the morning of Jan. 7 after a Manchester Department of Public Works employee heard a boy yelling for help out of a window, police said.

Responding officers also heard the screaming boy, who was in a sunroom with bars on the window, police said.

While knocking on the door to the home, police say officers immediately noticed a strong odor coming from inside. A man, who police identified as Legault, came to the door and stepped outside.

During a subsequent wellbeing check, police say officers observed deplorable conditions.

The odor of urine and feces was “very strong,” animal waste was on the floor, and trash was throughout the house, the department said in a news release.

A wet, discolored mattress was also found in the feces-covered sunroom where the boy had been yelling from, according to police.

Along with the boy who was in the sunroom, there were four other children in the house, all under the age of 14. The children were removed from the home due to the unfit living conditions.

Warrants were issued for the arrests of Legault and Krauklin following an investigation.

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