On 35th Avenue in Covington, neighbors got an unexpected knock at their door this morning. According to Covington Police Lt. Jack West, “They opened the door, she’s standing there shivering, they brought her in, she had thin cotton pajamas on, an dirty diaper that was overfilled and so the people had never seen the child before, had no idea where she had come from.”
 
After calling police, the neighbors learned the 3-year old is Kayla Tisdale. She had walked just a couple of houses down the street.

Police banged on the door and walls of Kayla’s house until her mother finally answered the door.

West said, “We said, ma’am don’t you smell this natural gas? She said well we’ve been working on this gas for a while. We turned it off, fixed it and turned it back on.”
 
Officers said Adam and Lauren Tisdale went to sleep with their daughter by their side, knowing there was a gas leak inside the house. But officers say that’s not the only reason for criminal charges.

The couple is also facing charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor because of the terrible living conditions inside the home. Detectives found trash piled up everywhere, weeks old food on the stove and even a pacifier on the floor right next to an old battery and chemicals.

“When we first got there, the child was very lethargic, not moving around much and the neighbors that took the child in and they fed the child and it was night and day and the child came around and was moving around and stuff,” said West.
 
Officers said the whole family was checked out at the hospital. Doctors told police if they had been inside for thirty more minutes they likely all would have been unconscious and possibly died.

The city of Covington has now condemned the family’s home and cut off its power and gas. Child Protective Services is investigating whether the little girl will be returned to her parents.

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