A disturbing child neglect case out of Mobile County, Alabama, is drawing national attention after authorities say a 14-year-old girl with special needs was left to live alone for months in a mobile home overrun with filth, animals, and decay while her mother and stepfather lived out of state.
According to the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the case came to light on Jan. 4, when deputies were called to a Dollar General store in Eight Mile, a rural community north of Mobile. Employees reported a teenage girl stumbling outside the store, appearing disoriented and complaining of dizziness and stomach pain.
A store employee told investigators the girl appeared unbathed, her clothes covered in dog hair, and her body emitting a strong odor. She was taken to a local hospital, where detectives with the sheriff’s office Child Advocacy Center interviewed her.
During that interview, authorities say the girl disclosed she had been living alone in a trailer on Jarrett Road since approximately February 2025 — around the time she turned 14. She told investigators her mother, Marchelle Lynn Pertilla, 43, and stepfather, Eugene Medrano, 52, had moved to Pensacola, Florida, for work, leaving her behind in Alabama.
The girl stated that she last saw the adults in person on October 31, 2025. Contact with her mother continued mostly through Snapchat, and food or groceries were occasionally delivered to the trailer through services like DoorDash or Walmart, according to investigators. Deputies said the parents rarely visited her during the final months.
On January 5, deputies executed a search warrant at the mobile home, accompanied by Prichard Animal Control officers. What they found was described by Sheriff Paul Burch as a “horrific” scene.
Authorities say the interior of the trailer was covered in urine, feces, roaches, trash and debris. A bathtub was filled with brown, stagnant liquid. Seven dogs were found on the property — four inside the home and three outside — and one dog was discovered dead inside a closet. The surviving animals were removed and placed in the custody of animal control.
Among the evidence collected was a handwritten note found in the girl’s sleeping area that has since become a haunting symbol of the case. Titled “How many times mom tells me that she can’t pick me up!”, the page contained roughly 87 tally marks, which investigators believe represented repeated broken promises from her mother.
Detectives later located Pertilla and Medrano in Pensacola and brought them in for questioning. According to authorities, the mother claimed the girl did not want to move to Florida because she did not want to leave her “service animals,” though officials said it is unclear whether any of the dogs met that designation.
Both adults were arrested and charged with child abuse and transported to the Mobile County Metro Jail. Investigators have said additional charges, including potential animal cruelty charges, remain under review. The sheriff’s office is also investigating whether anyone else was aware of the situation and failed to report it.
As of now, the teen was receiving medical care and had been placed in protective custody. The case has sparked widespread outrage on social media, with many calling for severe punishment and questioning how the situation went undetected for so long.
The incident highlights broader concerns in child welfare nationwide. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 600,000 children were identified as victims of abuse or neglect in 2023. Alabama’s rate, while slightly below the national average, still stood at about 8.5 victims per 1,000 children.
“This is a heartbreaking reminder that vulnerable children depend on adults to protect them,” Sheriff Burch said. “And sometimes it takes one person speaking up to save a life.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
