CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — With Christmas just days away, Shannon Morgan is in jail, and a 13-year-old child in her Citrus County home is in state custody. It all came from a house of horrors that has since been torn down.
Every piece of the Citrus County home got torn down and hauled off; neighbor Dennis Ringo had reason to celebrate.
“This is wonderful. I’m glad," said Ringo.
Dennis and many others in the neighborhood had been tormented by what went on here in the town of Beverly Hills.
“People don’t realize how bad it was over there," Ringo said.
Whatever was going on inside left a foul stench outside. The Sheriff himself got a whiff.
“When I turned the corner down there and started coming toward the house, I could smell it down there," said Citrus County Sheriff Mike Pendergast.
Inside, deputies said they found dogs, cats, and cages of snakes and rodents living in filth. They weren't getting food or water. There were also flies, roaches, and rats, hundreds of them running wild.
And living in the middle of it all, a 13-year-old child and an 18-year-old.
“It was a horror movie right there," said Ringo.
Shannon Morgan, the woman living in the home, was arrested for child neglect and 12 counts of animal cruelty. Officials said the house was structurally unsound, and that’s why they were able to get it torn down in less than a month.
But neighbors said even though exterminators tented the house, they are still dealing with the effects of what went on there. Hundreds of rats spilled out of the home and are now everywhere in the neighborhood.
“There are rats around here in every yard you can find. I was killing them. I was going over there with a pellet gun, and the cop told me to kill all you can," said Ringo.
“Nobody wants this on their block. I don’t care where you live. Just so happens to be it’s on one of the streets that’s two blocks from the church I attend every weekend," said Pendergast.
Animal control officers said in the end; they removed seven cats, a dog, and a ferret from the home.
