LANCASTER — State Police troopers removed two children — a 3-year-old and a 10-month-old — from the apartment of a woman suffering from a heroin overdose, according to a police report.
Police say officers responded to an apartment on the 100 block of East King Street at 9:36 p.m. on August 7 to assist emergency medical personnel with a sick person call. Officers found an unresponsive woman, Ebony Frederick, suffering from an apparent overdose.
According to police, the apartment was found to be unfit for human habitation. The floor was covered in bodily fluids, feces and vomit, police say. Soiled diapers were found lying in the open, on a bed and inside dresser drawers. Officers found part of the floor was covered in cleaning fluid and chlorine bleach. The bathtub was found to have a significant amount of standing water in it — enough to endanger the children, who had been inside the tub unattended when first responders arrived, police say.
The children showed signs of neglect, police say. They were taken into protective custody and turned over to Children and Youth Advocates. After consulting with the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, police filed a criminal complaint against Frederick, charging her with two counts of endangering the welfare of children.
After being medically cleared, Frederick was arraigned and committed to Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $20,000 bail.
