Inside the squalid home covered in dog feces and rotten food where three young children slept

  • Rodney McKinney, 70, and Melody McKinney, 34, own the trailer
  • Charged with three counts of felony child abuse for filthy home
  • The children, aged eight, 11 and 13, have now been removed

These photos show the squalid rooms covered in dog feces and rotten food that three young children were forced to endure at their trailer home in Farmington.

Their parents Rodney McKinney, 70, and Melody McKinney, 34, have now been charged with three counts of felony child abuse for keeping their home so filthy that simply living there put their children in danger, police said.

The children, aged eight, 11 and 13, have now been removed from the home, although the couple claim police exaggerated their report about the state of the house.

Claims: The bedroom where Melody and Rodney McKinney's eight-year-old son was allegedly locked for a month is pictured at the couple's home on South Monterey Avenue in Farmington

Claims: The bedroom where Melody and Rodney McKinney's eight-year-old son was allegedly locked for a month is pictured at the couple's home on South Monterey Avenue in Farmington

A police officer went to the family's home after a school teacher noticed dog feces on the clothing of one of the children, according to an affidavit

A police officer went to the family's home after a school teacher noticed dog feces on the clothing of one of the children, according to an affidavit

The conditions came to light after the couple's eight-year-old son turned up at school with dog feces on his clothes.

A teacher police and Detective Lisa McGaha, a school resource officer visited the family's trailer on South Monterey Avenue on Dec. 13, reported the Daily Times.

She reported finding dog feces, rotted food and trash throughout the home and said the smell was so overpowering she had to go outside for fresh air.

Photo released by the the San Juan County Adult Detention Center shows Melody McKinney, 34
Photo released by the the San Juan County Adult Detention Center shows Rodney McKinney, 70

Their parents Rodney McKinney, 70, and Melody McKinney, 34, have now been charged with three counts of felony child abuse for keeping their home so filthy that simply living there put their children in danger, police said

Melody McKinney stands in the office of her home. The couple say they have been getting help from their church to pay their bills and clear up their home

Melody McKinney stands in the office of her home. The couple say they have been getting help from their church to pay their bills and clear up their home

'The overwhelming smell in the residence was starting to make my throat burn and I was getting sick to my stomach,' McGaha wrote.

'I walked out of the residence and started dry heaving. I was trying not to throw up.'

The home's water had been turned off, and the family was using buckets to relieve themselves, according to the affidavit.

It also said that a portable toilet was in the living room.

During a police interview with the children they reported the youngest child would occasionally be locked in a back room, sometimes for several days.

The parents deny the charges.

They say they have been getting help from their church to pay their bills and clear up their home.

'One of the police come in here, when they had their warrants and she said that this was the most filthiest dirtiest house she had ever been and sat right there, police shouldn’t be saying that stuff,'  Rodney McKinney told KOB4.