Two Oklahoma City parents were arrested and accused of felony child neglect after police responding to a welfare check at a home near Northwest 12th and Rockwell on October 26 reported finding two toddlers and human waste throughout the house. The visit followed a call to police about pest control, according to the account of the incident reported by KFOR.
According to KFOR, a pest-control call to police is what first brought officers to the home. Officers reported that the odor made them gag the moment the parents opened the front door, and that fumes inside made it difficult to breathe. Inside, they said they found human waste scattered through the living room, kitchen, and the children's bedrooms.
Two Toddlers Found Crying and Covered in Waste
Police said the two children, both two years old, were crying and had feces in their hair, on their clothes, and on their feet. Both parents were arrested, and the children were handed over to a family member, according to KFOR's account of police statements.
KFOR reported that the father, identified as Jesse Roseberry, told officers he had “messed up” and acknowledged the unhealthy conditions. He also said he was unsure how often the children were being fed and that he could see their ribs.
Mother Cited Anxiety, Depression and Financial Strain
KFOR reported that the children's mother, identified as Zandra, told officers she has anxiety and depression and was not taking her medications. She said she was unsure whether to spend money on cleaning services or food for the children, and attributed some of the mess to the toddlers as she potty-trained them.
Neighbor Esteban Esparza told KFOR, “that's just unbelievable honestly.” He said he was infuriated that a child could be harmed behind locked doors without anyone else able to help.
A Second Recent Oklahoma City Neglect Case
This is not the only Oklahoma City case in which police say they found young children living in squalid conditions. In a separate 2024 incident reported by KOCO, three children were rescued from an Oklahoma City home after a neighbor called 911 upon seeing two boys, ages three and four, naked and possibly in distress in an upstairs window.
Police in that case said they found the boys in a bedroom covered in dried feces, and that one of the parents, Dakota Dodd, admitted to locking the boys in the bedroom for more than 12 hours a day. Dodd and Aubrianna Freeman were both arrested and faced multiple charges of child neglect, and the Department of Human Services became involved after the three children were removed from the apartment.
Oklahoma law and statewide reporting
Oklahoma's 2026 version of 21 O.S. § 843.5 classifies willful or malicious child neglect by a person responsible for a child's welfare as a Class B1 felony upon conviction, according to Oklahoma Statutes Citationized, OSCN. That classification does not establish which provision prosecutors charged in this case or a specific sentence. Separately, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services reported that it received 79,310 reports on families in state fiscal year 2017; after screening, 35,556 required investigation or assessment. Those historical statewide figures do not establish a current trend or explain this Oklahoma City case.
In the Northwest 12th and Rockwell case, the full scope of the felony charges against Roseberry and Zandra, and any future court proceedings, had not been detailed beyond the initial arrests as of the latest report.
