{"id":2931,"date":"2026-07-02T09:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931"},"modified":"2026-07-02T09:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T09:04:53","slug":"mother-and-father-charged-after-3-children-left-alone-in-cockroach-infested-home-during-fire-authorities-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931","title":{"rendered":"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS\/Gray News) – A mother and father are facing charges after three young children were left home alone during a fire late Monday, police said.<\/p>\n

Read more Flagstaff flights canceled due to Pocket Fire restrictions<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the Columbia Police Department, 28-year-old Zana Oden faces three counts of unlawful conduct of a child. She appeared in court for a bond hearing Wednesday alongside 21-year-old Mali\u2019K Locke, who faces three counts of unlawfully placing a child at risk. <\/p>\n

Oden\u2019s daughters, ages 6, 4 and 2, were alone at a home that caught fire on Floran Street. Locke is the father of one of the children.<\/p>\n

Crews with the Columbia-Richland Fire Department say they arrived at the scene at about 9:30 p.m. Monday, forced entry through the front door, and found smoke coming from the home.<\/p>\n

During the search, firefighters reportedly found the three children in and near bedrooms.<\/p>\n

The children were taken to the JMS Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, for treatment. Officials said Wednesday that the children suffered \u201csevere burn injuries\u201d but were listed in critical but stable condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like they were limp because I thought they inhaled a lot of smoke,\u201d Columbia-Richland Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said. \u201cI was irate because these are innocent kids, and somebody should have been there to take care of these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials say the fire was quickly put out. Jenkins said the home was significantly damaged in the blaze, and no other adults were found at the scene when firefighters responded. <\/p>\n

Jenkins also described a cockroach infestation inside the home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were absolutely horrible. I mean, we\u2019re talking about big roaches, cockroaches, an army of roaches inside. They were all over the place and getting all over these kids,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The children\u2019s mother was arrested Tuesday afternoon and, even after knowing about the fire, did not contact law enforcement. <\/p>\n

Oden was found less than a mile away from the home on Tuesday. When officers attempted to take her into custody, they said Oden tried to evade arrest by hiding inside a closet within an apartment. It\u2019s unclear where she was when the fire took place. <\/p>\n

Read more Phoenix brothers\u2019 firefighter dreams stalled after EMT school fails to forward records<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEven after knowing what had happened here, she still did not contact law enforcement,\u201d CPD Deputy Chief Melron Kelly said. <\/p>\n

During a bond hearing for both Oden and Locke, prosecutors said the children had been left home alone for at least a week before the fire. No one had checked on them during that period of time, and a neighbor reported not having seen Oden for a month.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors also said the youngest child was found very malnourished and did not have any food. One of the children also reportedly had insects in her diaper. A police report stated an officer noted the home was in \u201cdisrepair\u201d and that Oden kept the home in a state that was \u201cnot safe for the physical and mental development of the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

A victim\u2019s advocate said that Oden admitted to leaving the home last week, but said she tried to come back. She then left again after seeing a large police presence in the area. Oden was granted a $300,000 bond.<\/p>\n

Locke\u2019s attorney argued that his client had no prior arrests and didn\u2019t have a way to get to the home. He was later granted a $200,000 bond.<\/p>\n

CPD investigators are working to determine the circumstances that led to the incident. Investigators are also speaking with the parents of the other children. <\/p>\n

Upon release from the hospital, officials said the children will be placed in emergency custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese kids were absolutely defenseless against the flames and the smoke,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to make sure she stands to be judged in the court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigation is being conducted in coordination with the Columbia-Richland Fire Department fire marshal\u2019s office and SLED. <\/p>\n

Read more Where to see fireworks this Fourth of July<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A mother and father are facing charges after three young children were left home alone during a fire late Monday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A mother and father are facing charges after three young children were left home alone during a fire late Monday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T09:04:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T09:04:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931\"},\"wordCount\":692,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931\",\"name\":\"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say - Tucson Moving Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T09:04:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2931#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tucson Moving Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say - Tucson Moving Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say - Tucson Moving Report","og_description":"A mother and father are facing charges after three young children were left home alone during a fire late Monday.","og_url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931","og_site_name":"Tucson Moving Report","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T09:04:53+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"headline":"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say","datePublished":"2026-07-02T09:04:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931"},"wordCount":692,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931","name":"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say - Tucson Moving Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-02T09:04:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b5a69d8fc7a267c6516a595f239166c6.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2931#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mother and father charged after 3 children left alone in cockroach-infested home during fire, authorities say"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/","name":"Tucson Moving Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}