BLACKSTONE — The remains of three infants were found Thursday in a condemned home on St. Paul Street, authorities said, and a 31-year-old woman is facing charges in the case. The house is a few doors from the town police station, which is billed as a safe haven for newborns.

BLACKSTONE — The remains of three infants were found Thursday in a condemned home on St. Paul Street, authorities said, just a few doors down from the town's police station, which is billed as a safe haven for newborns.

Neighbors on the normally tranquil street recoiled in disgust Thursday night as Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. described a “crime scene” filled with vermin, flies and diapers piled up to 2 feet high. Mr. Early did not say where the bodies had been located, how long the children had been deceased, their gender or their ages.



Mr. Early also declined to speculate on the manner or cause of death.

Law enforcement officials were investigating a case of reckless endangerment of children when they made the discovery, he said.



The district attorney's office said Thursday night that Erika Murray, 31, is to be arraigned Friday in Uxbridge District Court on charges including intimidation of a witness. Blackstone police had said Thursday night a woman would face charges Friday in connection with the living conditions at the house.



Investigators said they are still searching the house and property to ensure there aren't additional bodies.

Mr. Early did not identify the residents of the home and did not say whether anyone has been charged in connection with the deaths.

According to the town's online Assessor's database, the home is owned by Kristina Rivera of Woonsocket, R.I., and the appraised value is $118,900.

“The house is in squalor,” Mr. Early said, adding that hazmat teams went in and out of the house throughout the day to search and had to be decontaminated upon exiting the home.



Mr. Early labeled the investigation “ongoing and active,” and said he anticipated investigators would be at the home for the next couple of days.

“It's a sad day,” said Police Chief Ross Atstupenas.

Mr. Early confirmed that two weeks ago, four children were removed from the home following a complaint about the conditions inside. Mr. Early said a 6-month-old child was found in horrid living conditions and smeared with feces. The 6-month-old was in poor health.

The other children taken out of the home were ages 3, 10 and 13.

The state Department of Children and Families said the children are now in state custody. The agency said it had no previous involvement with the family.

Mr. Early said autopsies will be performed on the three infants.

When asked if any of the children had been hidden in the home, as neighbors had speculated throughout the day, Mr. Early declined to comment.

The street was busy for the better part of the afternoon with numerous news vans parked out front, helicopters circling overhead and a stream of vans carrying hazmat-suited investigators to the house.

St. Paul Street, which is also the address of the the municipal offices and public safety departments, was filled with state vehicles including trucks from the state Department of Fire Service Hazmat Materials Response Team and Special Operations Rehab Unit.

The police station, which is within sight of the condemned home, is designated a Baby Safe Haven, which means that children 7 days or younger may be left there in the care of law enforcement officials without anyone being criminally prosecution. A prominent yellow sign reading “Baby Safe Haven” sits outside the station's doors.

Wednesday afternoon, investigators in hazardous-material suit had descended on the house, closed the street and set up a yellow decontamination unit in the middle of the road. They returned Thursday afternoon, closing the street again and setting up blue decontamination tents.

Investigators were using the special gear because of the filth and vermin inside the home.

Thursday morning, as the house was marked by red tape criss-crossed across the front door, neighbors called it a “house of mysteries.”

After the town's police chief issued a vague statement Thursday afternoon informing the public there was no danger, neighbors were left speculating about what had happened to the family that lived in the residence.

According to the police log, Blackstone police were called to the house at 4:12 p.m. Aug. 28. While the police log entry had the names redacted, the narrative states that a woman called police saying that her son was friends with the man who lived in the home and “they asked her to come over because they could not get the babies to stop crying.”



Police, after they arrived at the home last month, called DCF, which later removed four children from the home.



Marilynn and Bob Soucy, who live across the street, said the family that lived at 23 St. Paul St. didn't socialize with neighbors. They only knew of the two older children who lived in the home with the couple. Some neighbors said the home has had a smell coming from it, but others disputed that assertion.

The shades were always drawn, they said.

Amanda Heywood, a neighbor and lifelong resident, said claims of a stench coming from the home were not accurate.

“I walked past the house every day and I never smelled anything,” she said, adding she was “shocked, appalled and saddened” by the grim discovery.

Ms. Heywood said she's never seen such a scene. The last big happening, she said, was when a dump truck fell into a river six or seven years ago.

“Nobody knows where these babies came from,” Mr. Soucy said, referring to the 6-month-old and 3-year-old taken from the house last month. We didn't know they had two babies.”

Ms. Heywood said she too never saw babies in the home, just the two older children playing out front.

“They took the little boy who lived there and put him in the back of a police cruiser and he looked like he never wanted to come out,” Mrs. Soucy said.

She said the woman who lived there was walked down the street to the police station, which is within eyesight of the home.

“It is a house full of mysteries,” Mr. Soucy said. “The lady would sit on the porch and the kids played in the yard. They looked like a nice family. Guess you don't know who your neighbors are.”

“We raised two families in our house – our children and our grandchildren,” Mrs. Soucy said. “If we knew the kids were living like that, I would have went there and got them. I would have brought them clothes. We don't want kids living in squalor.”

Neighbors were stunned when investigators returned to the house Wednesday night, closing down the street.

“All of a sudden, guys in suits went in the house. They came out, went in their trunks and put on blue suits over their suits,” Mrs. Soucy said. “We heard there were a lot of bugs in there. We were told not to walk past the tape.”

“You see people in hazmat suits and you have to wonder if it is a public health threat,” said Betty Robbins, who also lives on St. Paul Street.

John Deane, who lives in the neighborhood, said he only knew the family to have two school-aged children.

“They weren't very neighborly. No one knows exactly what transpired there,” Mr. Deane said.

Contact Donna Boynton at donna.boynton@telegram.com.

Contact Brad Petrishen at brad.petrishen@telegram.com.