A mother and father were arrested after their one-year-old son plunged headfirst into a bucket of bleach.
The toddler was left unconscious and fighting for his life after after the horrific accident, which authorities allege occurred while the distracted parents left the toddler unattended.
Scott Marcov, 30, and wife Madelyn, 28, were charged on Tuesday with neglect over terrifying incident at the ‘filthy’ Iowa home on October 1.
Police rushed to the family’s home in Dubuque – later discovered to be infested with mice and garbage – following the parent’s frantic 911 calls about an unconscious infant, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox8.
Investigators discovered the baby’s head had been submerged in toxic bleach water for an ‘undisclosed amount of time.’
The child’s father was in the bathroom and his mother was in the living room at the time of the incident, according to the criminal complaint.
It was only when another child in the home carried the unconscious toddler toward the living room and desperately yelled for help that his mother finally called 911, as reported by KCRG.
Scott Marcov (pictured) 30, and wife Madelyn, 28, were arrested on Tuesday and charged with neglect after the terrifying incident at their Iowa home on October 1
The couple’s one-year-old boy was left unconscious and fighting for his life after plunging headfirst into a bucket of bleach water in a while his parents were distracted, authorities revealed (Madelyn pictured)
The parents lived in the home with the baby and two other kids, ages 6 and 4.
The child was rushed to hospital where doctors were forced to intubate him before transferring him to a specialist facility at the University of Iowa Hospital.
He had ‘acute respiratory failure’ and ‘loss of consciousness’ according to the affidavit.
When officers executed a search warrant at the family’s home, they described their home as ‘filthy’ with live mice scurrying across floors while a dead mouse in the kitchen.
Investigators also documented garbage and rotting food strewn across countertops and floors throughout the residence.
Officers shockingly found a used diaper inside a cooking pot on the kitchen counter.
Both parents now face charges of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.
In December, an eight-year-old girl revealed her toddler sister’s heartbreaking reaction when their mom allegedly demanded they drink bleach.
The child was rushed to hospital where doctors were forced to intubate him before transferring him to a specialist facility at the University of Iowa Hospital (pictured)
Investigators discovered the baby’s head had been submerged in toxic bleach water for an ‘undisclosed amount of time.’ He had ‘acute respiratory failure’ and ‘loss of consciousness’ according to the affidavit (Stock photo)
Joanne Zephir was found unconscious in her car with her daughters, aged three and eight years old, on 8 May 2022 after she allegedly forced the children to drink bleach mixed with milk.
Zephir’s eight-year-old surviving daughter has since revealed her little sister had called the mixture ‘yucky’ before she was viciously strangled and died, reported Law & Crime.
She told investigators that she drank three big sips before vomiting, described it as smelling bad, like pickles, and said it burned her tongue, according to documents.
‘Joanne told her the milk was good for her, and she had to drink it and then proceeded to make the three-year-old drink about half the bottle of milk,’ officials said.
The daughter told investigators that their mom had picked the two girls up from their aunt’s house and drove them to the parking lot where they were found.
The mother was already facing an arrest warrant for attempted murder at the time after her husband, who also survived, was stabbed, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
