A 14-year-old girl was reportedly abandoned in a squalid home with pets while her mother and stepfather left her alone for almost a year. Marchelle Lynn Pertilla and Eugene Medrano were taken into custody after witnesses at a shop spotted the young girl outside, unaccompanied. Law enforcement responded to the scene, where they found the teenager feeling unwell and in pain. The girl disclosed that she had been living by herself with seven dogs since February, without any contact with her parents since October 31.
Allegedly, the couple relocated from Alabama to Pensacola, Florida, leaving the girl in deplorable conditions as detailed by KBTX. She resided in a mobile home infested with filth, including feces, urine, roaches, and garbage, with one of the dogs discovered deceased in a closet.
During her hospitalization, the girl communicated with her parents primarily through Snapchat, with her mother sending food via delivery services. She claimed that she was abandoned because she did not want to leave her service animals, though the status of the dogs as service animals is unclear. Pertilla and Medrano face charges of child abuse and animal cruelty following their arrest.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch commended the shop employees for their prompt assistance to the teenager, urging the public to report concerning situations to authorities promptly. The incident echoes a separate case where a 10-year-old child was reportedly deserted at an airport after his passport was rejected, while his parents embarked on their vacation.
An employee at Barcelona–El Prat Airport recounted witnessing the child left alone at the terminal as his parents boarded an international flight during the summer.