A mother and father face neglect charges after three young children suffered severe burns in a Columbia house fire while reportedly left alone. The parents were not present when firefighters arrived and authorities allege the children had been unsupervised for days amid poor conditions.
Zana Oden, 28, and Malik Locke, 21, each face three counts of neglect by a legal custodian. Columbia police responded around 9:30 p.m. Monday to smoke coming from a home on Floran Street. Firefighters forced entry and found the children, ages 6, 4 and 2, inside bedrooms near the fire.
The children received initial treatment locally before transfer to Augusta Burn Center in Georgia. As of Tuesday evening they remained in critical but stable condition. Investigators reported heavy smoke, rapidly deteriorating conditions and an infestation of cockroaches throughout the residence.
Oden was arrested at a nearby apartment after attempting to hide in a closet. Locke is the father of one child. Prosecutors stated during a Wednesday bond hearing that the children had been alone for at least a week, with one child malnourished and insects found in a diaper. Oden is held on $300,000 bond and Locke on $200,000 bond.
