Cyrus Mayo and Samantha Mayo were booked Monday, Oct. 19, on warrants alleging five felony counts each of cruelty to juveniles, after investigators say five children were found living between a mobile home and a detached shed on Stoney Point Burch Road with no running water or air conditioning. The children, ranging from 7 months to 9 years old, were removed from the property and taken for medical evaluations that documented dehydration, lice and an underweight infant among other concerns.
According to WAFB, the investigation began July 7 after deputies responded to a complaint from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services about the Pride-area property. Four of the children reportedly slept inside the mobile home while the youngest stayed in the shed with the parents, according to WBRZ. The outlet reported that the heat index hit approximately 105 degrees on the day deputies arrived.
Roaches, Rotting Food and a Diaper Discovery
Arrest records described an intense cockroach infestation inside the mobile home, with insects found on the walls, ceilings and inside the refrigerator, and some falling from the ceiling during the assessment, per the same WBRZ report. Separate court records cited in reporting from Unfiltered with Kiran state that cockroaches fell from the ceiling while a DCFS worker was present, and that one younger child was found with a cockroach in their diaper, according to arrest warrants. The home reportedly also had holes in the floor, trash and rotting food scattered throughout.
DCFS obtained an emergency custody order after determining the children were in imminent danger of serious harm, WAFB reported. All five were taken to Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital, where evaluations documented lice, poor hygiene, diaper rash, dehydration, an underweight infant, dental issues and children behind on immunizations. None of the five children were being educated, according to the documents reviewed by WBRZ, and the report notes the children also had untreated skin problems, a urinary tract infection and tooth decay.
A Custody History Stretching Back to 2020
Two of the five children found in the home were from Cyrus Mayo's previous marriage to Katherine Mayo, while the other three are shared by Cyrus and Samantha Mayo, according to Unfiltered with Kiran's review of court records. Cyrus and Katherine Mayo divorced in 2020 after four years of marriage, when their son was three and their daughter was two, and the pair initially shared custody.
Court filings show the custody arrangement grew contentious in the years that followed. In 2023, Cyrus Mayo requested a restraining order against Katherine Mayo, alleging their son overheard her threaten to kill the family and that the children feared going to school out of concern their mother might pick them up and something bad might happen, per his restraining-order application as detailed by Unfiltered with Kiran. He also accused Katherine Mayo of exposing the children to fleas, bugs and loose dogs, and alleged his daughter suffered a concussion and was bitten by a horse while in her care without appropriate medical treatment. His application also claimed DCFS had investigated Katherine Mayo six times previously. The court lifted the restraining order about a month after it was issued, finding Cyrus Mayo had failed to prove the allegations, and he was granted sole custody of the two children that year.
Allegations Against the Children's Mother
In 2024, Cyrus Mayo again sought sole custody, at least temporarily, while Katherine Mayo was under investigation by DCFS, and she agreed to those conditions, per court records cited by Unfiltered with Kiran. His custody petition that year also claimed law enforcement agencies in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes were investigating Katherine Mayo for sexual abuse; Katherine Mayo was not arrested in connection with that sexual abuse investigation.
Katherine Mayo was separately arrested in 2025 on one count of cruelty to juveniles involving two other children, ages three and four, whom an arrest affidavit described as living in conditions deputies called deplorable. That affidavit alleged the girls had head lice, rashes and infections while living in a mold-infested house with a leaking roof that smelled of cat urine. Katherine Mayo agreed to give up custody of her children, according to court records, and her cruelty-to-juveniles case remains pending in court.
A later visit to the Stoney Point Burch Road property, on Aug. 31, found that conditions had improved tremendously, although cockroaches remained, according to WBRZ's reporting. DCFS did not immediately respond to questions about the case. The allegations against Cyrus and Samantha Mayo have not been proven in court.
