Officials: Kids eating feces, cereal off floor of home where some fell ill

New details were revealed Tuesday about the children who were removed from a house in Warren, including that some of them were found eating cereal and animal feces off the floor. 

Police have turned the case over to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office for possible charges of child abuse or neglect, Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said.  Of 11 children who were taken to local hospitals, only one — a baby — remained hospitalized Tuesday, Dwyer said. The baby was listed in stable condition. The other children who were released are now in the care of child protective services.

Read more:

Police investigate use of Taser on boy, 15

School backs off plans for 'modesty ponchos' at prom

According to Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams, a sister of a woman who lived at the home on Jewett Avenue, near 9 Mile and Van Dyke, took three children to a hospital after they fell ill with symptoms like vomiting, weakness and disorientation.

Hospital staff contacted Warren authorities and asked them to check on the other kids who were still at the house to rule out a possible chemical contamination, McAdams said. 

"We found eight children in the home alone," McAdams said. The oldest child, a 10-year-old, was caring for the others. Warren authorities transported those kids to hospitals. 

Dwyer and McAdams said the house was in deplorable condition, with cereal and animal feces all over the floor. 

"The house smelled of urine," McAdams said. 

Warren Mayor Jim Fouts wrote about the matter on his Facebook page, calling the conditions "horrific, repulsive and inhumane." He said some of the children suffered from malnutrition and were grossly underweight.  

"In any society, children have a basic right of proper nourishment and clean and safe living conditions," Fouts said. "As long as I'm mayor, I will encourage STRONG punishment for the those responsible for this kind of a situation."  

Contact Ann Zaniewski at 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @AnnZaniewski.