Deputies remove five children from filthy home

BOISE – Deputies for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office removed five children from their parents’ home after investigators found the family living amid animal waste, rotten food and insects.

Investigators were called to the home after someone reported the children, ages 5 to 11, were not being cared for. The home was infested with insects and littered with animal feces, rotting food, and various clutter and garbage that posed “substantial health and safety risks,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said.

Joseph Ted Spliethof, 40, and his wife, Heather Dawn Spliethof, 32, the children’s parents, were arrested Wednesday and charged with felony injury to a child. They posted bond Wednesday afternoon.

Following examinations, the children were placed in the custody of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Joseph Spliethof disputed the charges.

“We’ve got to battle to get our kids back,” Spliethof said. “Not one time were our kids ever abused.”