A Delhi Township woman has been arrested after her 70-year-old father, who uses a wheelchair, was found covered in feces inside a home that investigators say was also housing several young children. Kristi Manchame, 46, now faces five counts of endangering children and one count of nonsupport of a dependent following the discovery.
According to local12.com, police found Manchame's father, who requires a wheelchair, covered in feces during a search of her Beechmeadow Lane home. Four of her children and grandchildren, ranging in age from two to 16, were also living in the home, and she watches a fifth child on a daily basis, the outlet reports. Separately, WLWT reports that investigators, per prosecutors, found the home covered in human waste, and that Manchame's father has dementia in addition to needing a wheelchair.
Manchame's son and three grandchildren lived in the home, according to WLWT, while a fourth grandchild spent time there as well. The station reports that Manchame's father was taken to a hospital after the conditions inside the home were discovered, and that other relatives are now caring for the children. A judge has ordered Manchame to stay away from the family members she had been caring for.
Home Condemned After Everyone Was Removed
Once the family members were removed from the property, the county Board of Health boarded it up and condemned it, according to the same local12.com report. Manchame faces five counts of endangering children and one count of nonsupport of dependents, the outlet notes, tying the charges directly to the conditions investigators described inside the home.
Manchame's attorney told local12.com that she has custody of her grandchildren because their mother is battling substance abuse. The attorney's explanation is the only response attributed to Manchame or her legal team in the available reporting.
What the Charges Allege Under Ohio Law
The endangering-children charges Manchame faces fall under Ohio Revised Code Section 2919.22, titled “Endangering children,” according to codes.ohio.gov. The nonsupport charge falls under Ohio Revised Code Section 2919.21, “Nonsupport or contributing to nonsupport of dependents,” per the same state code repository, which states that no person shall abandon or fail to provide adequate support required by law. The available statutory excerpts do not detail how either law applies specifically to Manchame's case or what penalties she could face if convicted.
Cases involving vulnerable older adults like Manchame's father typically fall under a different state oversight structure than child welfare cases. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services oversees investigations of vulnerable adults ages 60 and older in cases of abuse, neglect and exploitation, according to the agency's Adult Protective Services program.
A System Already Stretched Thin
The case adds to a steady flow of children moving through Hamilton County's child-protection pipeline. A local child-advocacy nonprofit reports that roughly 3,000 children move through the county's child protection system each year, a figure the organization says is about double what it saw in earlier years, according to WCPO. For now, Manchame's children and grandchildren are in the care of other relatives while the case against her moves forward.
