A 14-year-old girl was reportedly abandoned by her mother and stepfather, left alone in a filthy home with pets for nearly a year. Marchelle Lynn Pertilla and Eugene Medrano were apprehended following a report from shop workers who witnessed the young girl in distress outside the establishment. Police responded to the scene and discovered the teenager, complaining of dizziness and stomach pains. She disclosed that she had been deserted at home with seven dogs since February, without any contact with her parents since October 31.
The girl revealed that the couple relocated from Alabama to Pensacola, Florida, leaving her in deplorable living conditions. She resided in a mobile home with seven dogs amidst squalor, feces, urine, roaches, and garbage. Tragically, one of the dogs was found deceased in a closet.
During her hospitalization, the girl mentioned that she communicated with her parents primarily through Snapchat, and her mother sent food via delivery services. She explained that she was abandoned because she refused to leave her service animals, although it remains unclear if any of the dogs served as such.
Pertilla and Medrano face charges of child abuse and animal cruelty. Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch commended the swift action of the shop employees in assisting the teenage girl and emphasized the importance of reporting concerns to authorities promptly. The incident echoes a similar case where a 10-year-old child was allegedly abandoned at an airport after his parents departed on a holiday due to passport issues. An airport staff member at Barcelona–El Prat Airport recounted the child standing alone at the terminal while his parents boarded an international flight earlier in the summer.
