Authorities: California family lived in filthy desert hovel

Friends of the California couple that was arrested after authorities found that their three young children were living in a makeshift rectangular home made of plywood in the desert say that the kids were never abused and that their living conditions were a result of the family’s extreme poverty.

Mona Kirk, 51, and Daniel Panico, 73 were taken into custody in Joshua Tree, California on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child on Wednesday.

Deputies located a travel trailer, which appeared to be abandoned, and a large rectangular box made of plywood on their property.

They then found the children – ages 11, 13, and 14 – living in squalid conditions. Video and pictures taken at the scene show the area strewn with garbage and debris.

Mona Kirk, 51, and Daniel Panico, 73 were taken into custody in Joshua Tree, California on suspicion of willful cruelty to a child on Thursday. They are seen above Friday in Joshua Tree Court

Friends of the California couple say that the kids were never abused and that their living conditions were a result of the family's extreme poverty

Friends of the California couple say that the kids were never abused and that their living conditions were a result of the family’s extreme poverty

Authorities found that their three young children were living in a makeshift rectangular home made of plywood in the desert

Authorities found that their three young children were living in a makeshift rectangular home made of plywood in the desert

Friends and neighbors who know the family say that while their living arrangements do appear squalid, the children were never abused. Kirk is seen above

Friends and neighbors who know the family say that while their living arrangements do appear squalid, the children were never abused. Panico is seen above

Friends and neighbors who know the family say that while their living arrangements do appear squalid, the children were never abused. Kirk is seen left and Panico is seen right

Mattresses and plastic bags are seen inside the box the youngsters were kept in – in an area where temperatures reach up to 120 degrees.

But friends and neighbors who know the family say that while their living arrangements do appear squalid, the children were never abused.

Mike Reynolds, a neighbor who has never been on the property, told CBS Los Angeles that he has known the family for years.

‘His family, they lived not too far from here and they lost their house. So he bought that lot and bought that trailers and moved up. There were living there and his goal was to build his dream house,’ Reynolds said.

The couple was arrested and charged for keeping their three children in a plywood box for four years at their property in Joshua Tree, California, above

The couple was arrested and charged for keeping their three children in a plywood box for four years at their property in Joshua Tree, California, above

During the investigation, deputies learned the three victims have lived in the large rectangular box - which was approximately 20 feet long by 4 feet high by 10 ft wide - for approximately four years

During the investigation, deputies learned the three victims have lived in the large rectangular box – which was approximately 20 feet long by 4 feet high by 10 ft wide – for approximately four years

This aerial photo from video provided by KABC-TV shows the ramshackle structure in unincorporated Joshua Tree in Southern California's Mojave Desert on Thursday, March 1, 2018

This aerial photo from video provided by KABC-TV shows the ramshackle structure in unincorporated Joshua Tree in Southern California’s Mojave Desert on Thursday, March 1, 2018

The image above shows a close-up shot of the front door to the rectangular plywood structure where authorities say the children were held

The image above shows a close-up shot of the front door to the rectangular plywood structure where authorities say the children were held

The property had no electricity or running water. Several large holes and mounds of trash and human feces were located throughout the property

The property had no electricity or running water. Several large holes and mounds of trash and human feces were located throughout the property

The victims were found to have an inadequate amount of food and were living in an unsuitable and unsafe environment due to the conditions located on the property

The victims were found to have an inadequate amount of food and were living in an unsuitable and unsafe environment due to the conditions located on the property

Children's toys are seen amongst the debris found in Joshua Tree, California

Children’s toys are seen amongst the debris found in Joshua Tree, California

He said there was nothing unusual about the property not being connected to running water and electricity.

‘We’re in the desert,’ Reynolds said.

‘People come up here to get away from it all. People come up here to live off of the grid.’

Reynolds said that in his experience, he never thought the children were in danger. On the contrary, they looked healthy and safe.

‘There’s people out there in the gutters raising their kids in less environment, in cardboard boxes and having to go to the bathroom in the gutters and they don’t get arrested,’ he said.

‘They need help but they’re not getting arrested…My goodness, he’s living on his own property.’

‘The [San Bernardino County] Sheriff’s Department is punishing those kids for being homeless,’ a friend of the couple, Leanna Munroe, told the Los Angeles Times.

Munroe defended her friends, saying that the plywood shelter ‘looks horrendous, but they would only be there during the daytime.

‘Their crime is being homeless and they kept it from people,’ said another family friend, Marsha Custodio, of Yucca Valley.

Friends say that the children were highly intelligent and active in sports as well as scouts. They said there was no indication that they were neglected.

Jackie Klear, a friend of the couple from nearby Yucca Valley, told the Times that the children were ‘very much loved.’

Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the High Desert of California, which is an area between 2,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level

Joshua Tree and its surrounding communities are located in the High Desert of California, which is an area between 2,000 and 4,000 feet above sea level

 A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy noticed the mounds of trash, old toys and furniture while he was on patrol through the desert earlier this week

 A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy noticed the mounds of trash, old toys and furniture while he was on patrol through the desert earlier this week

Old furniture and mattresses are seen in the debris field outside of the trailer in Joshua Tree

Old furniture and mattresses are seen in the debris field outside of the trailer in Joshua Tree

Children and Family Service responded to the location and took custody of the three victims

Children and Family Service responded to the location and took custody of the three victims

Joshua Tree, California is home to Joshua Tree National Park, a US national monument

Joshua Tree, California is home to Joshua Tree National Park, a US national monument

Debris is seen atop what appears to be a trampoline while children's toys are seen on the ground in the photo above

Debris is seen atop what appears to be a trampoline while children’s toys are seen on the ground in the photo above

The image above shows another view of the trailer and the surrounding debris field

The image above shows another view of the trailer and the surrounding debris field

Klear is the leader of a local scout group which included the three children. As part of the scouts, they attended weekly meetings and did activities.

‘I know this looks like crap,’ Klear said, pointing to the area where the family lived. ‘But they were very well taken care of.’

Klear said that the parents are both highly educated people who home-schooled the kids.

She said the family was forced to move out to the desert four years ago when they hit hard times financially.

Klear said that the family simply refused offers of help.

‘They don’t want handouts,’ she said. ‘I’m hoping this woke them up.’ 

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy noticed the mounds of trash, old toys and furniture while he was on patrol through the desert earlier this week.

As he approached, he spotted a hovel cobbled together with plywood and plastic sheeting.

And then came the shocking discovery that a couple and their three children – ages 11 to 14 – had been living there for several years without running water, bathrooms or electricity.

The children’s mother, Kirk, would sleep alongside them in the ramshackle dwelling, which is only about 4 feet high and 10 feet wide, said Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

Their father, Panico, slept either in a trailer on the property with dozens of cats or in another vehicle, she said.

‘They were scraps of plywood that were put together and then they had a tarp over it to keep out the rain,’ Bachman said of the makeshift shelter on the lot near Joshua Tree, about 125 miles east of Los Angeles.

Inside, blankets were strewn everywhere and chairs were used to try to hold up the tarp ceiling. 

A makeshift kitchen was littered with empty bottles with cans of corn, peas and soup stacked on wooden shelves. 

Several holes on the property were filled with feces, officials said.

The children didn’t appear to have any obvious injuries and showed no outward signs of malnutrition but were undergoing medical evaluations, Bachman said.

‘It was apparent they had not bathed in days,’ she said. 

‘There was no running water, no electricity, no bathroom facilities.’

The parents were arrested Wednesday and have been charged with three counts of felony child abuse, district attorney’s office spokesman Christopher Lee said. 

A telephone number listed for the couple in public records was not in service Friday.

The children were not enrolled in public school and deputies are still investigating whether they were considered enrolled in a homeschool, but there was no evidence they were being educated, Bachman said.

Deputies located a travel trailer, which appeared to be abandoned, and a large rectangular box made of plywood on their property, according to a release from the sheriff's department

Deputies located a travel trailer, which appeared to be abandoned, and a large rectangular box made of plywood on their property, according to a release from the sheriff’s department

Several large holes and mounds of trash and human feces were located throughout the property

Several large holes and mounds of trash and human feces were located throughout the property

Deputies believe the family lost their home at some point and has been living on the dirt lot for about four years, Bachman said. 

Initially, the whole family was living in the trailer and they later built the plywood dwelling, she said.

Temperatures in the desert community regularly reach over 100 degrees during the summer and can drop well below freezing during very windy winter nights.

‘They range from 20-30 degrees at night or even lower depending on the wind chill,’ Bachman said. 

‘The temperatures were very cold and they were basically living outdoors. There was no indoors for them.’

Investigators do not believe the children were being held captive, like another family – who lived about 60 miles east of Joshua Tree – that made international headlines earlier this year when officials said they had rescued their 13 children.

David and Louise Turpin have pleaded not guilty to torture, abuse and other charges.

Prosecutors in neighboring Riverside County said the Turpins tortured their children keeping them chained to their beds and so malnourished their growth was stunted.



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