Staff Report

William Dalton Lee Brenneke

Brooklynn Marie Heine

CHURUBUSCO — Two people from Churubusco were arrested for allegedly neglecting two children by allowing them to live in unsafe conditions.

Brooklynn Marie Heine, 21; and William Dalton Lee Brenneke, 22, both of Churubusco, are each charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent, both level 6 felonies.

In April, a Whitley County Sheriff’s Office detective received a report of child neglect at a Churubusco residence. It was alleged that two children in a home were “exposed to unsafe conditions.” Brenneke and Heine resided at the home.

According to court documents, a report from the Department of Child Services stated there had not been a working fridge or stove in the home for over a year. The home’s interior was also littered with trash and infested with bed bugs.

A report from the Whitley County Health Department said the house “had many items on the floor and piled throughout the house.” A bed where one of the children slept had bed bugs inside it.

WCHD staff was also unable to enter Heine and Brenneke’s room because of clutter blocking the door. The staff said the children should not live in the residence because of its conditions.

Heine and Brenneke were both booked in the Whitley County Jail on May 1.