In a heartbreaking discovery that has left a Texas community reeling, a 1-year-old child was rescued from an apartment so steeped in filth and neglect that authorities deemed it uninhabitable. The child’s mother, 22-year-old Mikayla Rishae Rodwell of Waco, now sits behind bars, facing serious charges after police uncovered a scene that one officer described as a “nightmare beyond comprehension.” The arrest followed a series of alarming reports to Child Protective Services (CPS), painting a grim picture of a young life endangered by squalor and indifference.
The situation came to light on April 2, when Waco police received multiple CPS referrals detailing concerns about the infant’s welfare. Callers reported that the child was rarely bathed, consistently suffered from diaper rash, and was often dressed inadequately for the weather. They also warned of a home overrun with roaches. Prompted by these disturbing claims, authorities visited Rodwell’s apartment the following day, April 3. What they encountered during a consensual walk-through defied even their worst expectations.
Inside, the apartment was a chaotic mess of trash, feces, and hazards. Roaches scurried across every surface, their presence so pervasive that both live and dead insects were found inside the baby’s crib—a chilling indication of how deeply the infestation had taken hold. The flooring was nonexistent in places, replaced by exposed spike strips that posed a clear danger to a crawling child. Scattered around the living space were prescription pill bottles with loose caps, a pair of open scissors, and a fixed-blade knife left carelessly on a dresser—all within easy reach of the infant. In one room, a dog was discovered locked away, emaciated and desperate, scratching at the door with no access to food or water. Investigators counted over 20 piles of feces throughout the apartment, some mere feet from the child’s toys, while a box of soiled diapers swarmed with gnats sat beside the bed. The bathroom, too, was buried under layers of garbage, rendering it unusable.
When pressed to explain the deplorable conditions, Rodwell deflected blame. She pointed fingers at her landlord, claiming a failure to spray for pests was the root cause of the roach problem. She also cited the dog and unnamed others as contributors to the mess. Yet, authorities noted that the sheer volume of trash, feces, and neglect suggested a far deeper issue—one that couldn’t be pinned solely on external factors. Rodwell, who is unemployed, showed no signs of having sought help or made any attempt to improve the environment for her child or the animal in her care.
The infant was swiftly removed from the apartment, placed into protective custody to ensure his safety. Rodwell, meanwhile, was arrested and booked into jail on charges of endangering a child and cruelty to non-livestock animals. Both are serious offenses under Texas law, reflecting the gravity of the risks posed to the defenseless 1-year-old and the neglected dog. The child endangerment charge stems from the immediate threats to the infant’s health and safety—conditions that could have led to injury, illness, or worse. The animal cruelty charge addresses the dog’s confinement and starvation, a secondary but equally troubling facet of the case.
This incident has sparked outrage among neighbors and local advocates, who question how such conditions persisted undetected for so long. It also raises broader concerns about the support systems available to struggling parents and the mechanisms in place to protect vulnerable children. While Rodwell’s case moves through the legal system, the focus remains on the well-being of the rescued child, now free from the roach-infested chaos he once called home. For now, the Waco community waits for justice, hoping this tragic story serves as a wake-up call to prevent similar horrors in the future.