Couple booked with child desertion and cruelty to juveniles after leaving five young children alone and starving in a deplorable house

Christopher Mistich

Pamela Stafford

It began with a child calling the 911 emergency system several times, hanging up each time without talking to dispatchers.

When St. Bernard Parish sheriff’s deputies investigated the hang-up calls about 11:30 p. m. on July 5 they found five young children who had been left alone and starving in a deplorable house in eastern St. Bernard while their parents went drinking at two bars, Sheriff James Pohlmann said.

The children ranged in ages from ages ten to three.

After learning the parents had gone to a bar hours earlier to drink and hear a band, deputies eventually found the couple in a second bar, the sheriff said.

Christopher Mistich, 37, and Pamela Stafford, 35, both of 7917 Saro Lane in eastern St. Bernard, were both booked with child desertion and cruelty to juveniles.

They are being held in St. Bernard Parish Prison in lieu of bond set at $7,500 each.

When deputies arrived at the home, four of the children were walking around outside, one of them nude, the sheriff said. The fifth was sleeping inside.

As deputies entered the residence they found deplorable conditions, including several rodents running across their feet, Sheriff Pohlmann said. There were also pieces of rancid food found throughout, as well as used diapers and dirty clothing, he said.

The children also told officers they hadn’t eaten in days and were hungry. Deputies took them to get something to eat at a restaurant, the sheriff said.

Detectives from the Juvenile Division were notified about the arrests and the youngsters were eventually turned over to the state Office of Child Services.