Darrel Lee Kittle, 32, and Rebecca Dawn Kittle, 30, are both charged with three counts of gross neglect of a child creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, a felony. They are both currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on separate $100,000 cash-only bonds.

According to the criminal complaint, filed by Cpl. Samuel W. Shahan with the West Virginia State Police, at around 6:50 p.m. on July 21, Shahan received a call regarding a missing young child from Alton Road in French Creek. The child was reportedly seen on a security camera “walking through the gate along Alton Road.”

When Shahan arrived on scene around 7:09 p.m., he spoke with Darrel Kittle, who stated that they could not find the child in the house and that he had watched the security footage that showed the young child walking down the driveway and then down Alton Road, the complaint states.

Shahan, along with Sgt. Patrick J. Robinett, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office deputies, multiple fire department agencies and volunteers, searched for the child.

KIttle

Accompanied by Darrel Kittle, Shahan, Robinette and several officers entered the residence around 7:28 p.m. to ensure the child did not return without anyone knowing, the complaint states. While inside the residence, Shahan reviewed the security footage, which showed “everyone at the residence going inside and leaving (the young child) outside.” The young child could then be seen walking to the end of the “approximately 175-foot-long driveway” out onto Alton Road, then walking west on Alton Road until the child was out of view of the camera.

According to the complaint, while searching the residence, Robinette observed “deplorable living conditions” within the home. Robinette listed animal feces on the floor, a severe infestation of cockroaches and decomposing trash “strewn throughout the residence.” Shahan writes that he too observed cockroaches and the smell of decomposing trash, as well as multiple cats and dogs living in the residence.

Around 8:52 p.m., the missing young child was located on a hill in a wooded area approximately 400 yards from the residence, the complaint states. The child was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital for possible exposure and dehydration.

After informing Darrel Kittle and Rebecca Kittle that the child had been found and taken to the hospital, Shahan was informed that a total of three children resided in the home. That same day, Child Protective Services (CPS) was contacted regarding the incident and the living conditions of the residence.

Later that day, Shahan arrived at St. Joseph’s Hospital and visited the young child, the complaint states. Shahan observed the child to be “dirty, with a significant number of minor lacerations to (their) legs and a deeper laceration to the underside of (their) right foot.” Shahan writes that he took photographs of the child and their injuries.

According to the complaint, that same day, CPS was accompanied to the residence by Deputy Gordon and Deputy Newbrough with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office. Video footage from Gordon’s body camera and photographs taken by the deputy allegedly depict cockroaches in the refrigerator, on food, along the sink, on dishes and on the floor in various rooms of the residence. 

The video and photos also allegedly show animal feces and decomposing trash in various rooms in the residence, as well as unclean bedding in the children’s rooms, an unflushed toilet with human feces in it, and cigarette butts and ashes scattered through the residence, according to the complaint. A loaded, high-powered rifle was also found in the residence, allegedly leaning in a corner “within reach of all children.”