TUNNELTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia State Police arrested a Preston County couple after six children in their care were allegedly found to be living in “disgusting” conditions.
Chester Keen, 47, of Grantsville and Brittany Nelson, 28, of Kingwood, were charged with two counts of child neglect after troopers with the Preston County detachment of the West Virginia State Police responded to a report on Wednesday that two children were on a roadway in Tunnelton “in minimal to no clothing.”
According to a criminal complaint, troopers identified the two children as approximately 1 and 3 years old and noted the outside temperature was reading approximately 30 degree Fahrenheit at the time of the call.
When troopers arrived to the residence where the children were being cared for by Keen and Nelson, it was described as “being in disarray and unsanitary” with the only heat source in the home being an open stove, according to the complaint. Four additional children were allegedly under the care of Keen and Nelson at the time.
Keen and Nelson are being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on $50,000 bond.