Aug. 10, 2023 9:20p
(WGTD)---A horrendous child neglect case surfaced in Racine last week.
Five children, ranging in age from one-and-a-half to 14—were found to be living in a basement in the 1100 blk. of Metron Court. The children were described in a criminal complaint as frail, malnourished, lethargic and unkempt.
Now the mother—34-year-old Dashja Turner—is facing five charges of neglecting a child.
In court Thursday, bond was set at one million dollars.
According to the criminal complaint, Turner is a distant relative of one of the home’s tenants. She and her children were supposedly staying in the basement temporarily to allow the family to attend the funeral of a relative.
The children were in such bad shape that they were all hospitalized. According to the complaint, it appeared the oldest child had never seen a dentist. A two-year-old weighed less than ten pounds, half the normal weight of a child that age. The ribs of an eight-year-old were "overtly" visible and the child could walk but appeared unsteady and tired easily, the complaint said. Some of the children showed signs of physical abuse.
When confronted by an investigator, the mother claimed the children were being adequately cared for.
The complaint notes this isn’t the first time social workers have had contact with the family. Beginning in September of 2021, welfare checks were made in Kenosha, Mt. Pleasant and Racine.
Turner claimed that the school-age children were being home-schooled.
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