NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- An 84-year-old woman rescued from deplorable conditions is now in the care of the Department of Children and Families.
Volusia County Sheriff's deputies and DCF workers responded to an anonymous tip and found Mary Phillips living in a trailer home full of filth, feces and a strong smell of urine coming from the 50 cats, 20 ducks and geese, a large male turkey and smaller female turkeys, as well as two dogs she was living with.
Phillips told deputies she was recently living a nursing home and wanted to go back.
Phillip's daughter, Mary Bosket, told deputies she last visited her mother a month ago.
Bosket was arrested and charged with neglect to the elderly. She was taken to the Volusia County Jail with bond set at $10,000.
"It's very heartbreaking. I don't, it's not right to do something like that to someone who depends on you," said Lee Anne Campbell, a neighbor.
Phillips told deputies she did not have running water or electricity and that she would sleep with cats to try to stay warm.
Two dead cats were found inside the freezer.
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