Jessica Blair and Joshua Foster face felony child injury charges after allegedly forcing their 3-year-old son to spend days propped up in a car seat inside an abandoned vehicle behind their Idaho Falls home. The discovery followed a welfare check revealing squalid conditions and severe neglect. Authorities also removed numerous animals from the property.
Police in Idaho Falls responded to a call from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare on January 29, prompted by reports of the couple living in filth while confining their toddler to a car seat in a vehicle parked behind their home. When asked about their son's whereabouts, Blair and Foster reportedly replied, 'In the car.' Officers found the child with an unrelated individual, an extension cord running from the house to a space heater inside the vehicle, and a dog walking over the boy, according to court documents cited by East Idaho News. The car seat was wet and stained, and the child wore a soaking T-shirt with a disintegrating diaper unchanged for days, causing severe rashes on his groin and thighs. The boy was immediately removed by welfare workers. Inside the home, investigators documented piles of feces, urine, trash, rotten food, bug infestations, thick dirt layers, and cigarette butts everywhere. The child's bedroom had been converted into a space for six pets amid feces and urine puddles. A follow-up visit on April 9 revealed even worse conditions, with more feces, additional animals, and no power. Court records indicate at least 33 animals had been seized from the couple previously. Blair and Foster, both 35, also face animal cruelty charges and are set for a preliminary hearing on May 1.