A shocking incident unfolded in Miami Beach, Florida, where police arrested a man and woman after discovering their five children living in appalling conditions without food, electricity, or a functioning toilet. The parents, 40-year-old Sanel Canovic and 33-year-old Azra Nikocevic, now face multiple charges of child neglect.
The ordeal came to light on a Tuesday afternoon in the busy 700 block of 15th Street. A passerby noticed a 6-year-old boy crossing the street alone and immediately called 911. When officers arrived, the little boy led them to his nearby apartment. What they found inside was deeply troubling.
Four other children, all under the age of 12, were inside the home. The apartment had no electricity, no food, and no working toilet. The children told the officers they hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours and were very hungry. The officers brought the kids to the police station, where they gave them food while working to locate the parents.
According to a Miami Beach Police Department spokesperson, the condition of the apartment was deplorable. The toilet was backed up with feces, and the children said they were forced to shower after using the bathroom since there was no toilet paper. Officers found dirty rags in the bathroom, and the kids were wearing soiled clothes that smelled strongly of urine.
The children revealed that the electricity in their home had been off for about two months. They usually relied on breakfast and lunch at school for food, but during the Christmas break, they were often left hungry. Their mother had given them $20 to buy food at McDonald’s before going to work that day, but it was unclear whether the kids had been able to eat.
The police eventually contacted Nikocevic and asked her to come to the station. She admitted the electricity had been shut off weeks ago due to unpaid bills. She also confirmed she left $20 for the kids but said she couldn’t check if they ate since she was at work. Canovic later arrived at the station but declined to speak with authorities without a lawyer.
The arrest report painted a grim picture of the children’s daily lives. It described how the parents would often eat meals themselves without providing food for the kids and regularly left them alone at home while they went out for dinner.
Canovic was taken to the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation facility, where he is being held on a $7,500 bond. Nikocevic was released on her own recognizance. The couple’s next court appearance is scheduled for January 30. Meanwhile, the children are now in the care of authorities, safe from the neglect they endured.
