Police said the children, ages 8 and 10, were found in dirty bathwater and told officers they had never attended school.
TEMPLE, TX — Two children were removed from a Temple home after officers responding to a foul odor report found them in conditions police described as unsafe, filthy and covered with rotting garbage, according to arrest affidavits.
The case began May 20 in the 500 block of E. Young Avenue, where a caller reported a strong smell from a nearby home and said a neighbor had not been seen. Police later arrested Michael Robbins, 34, and John Robbins, 68, on May 22. Both men face charges of abandoning or endangering a child with intent. The children were taken to McLane Children’s Hospital after officers and Child Protective Services responded.
Officers went to the home early May 20 after the odor complaint, police said. As they got closer, one officer said the house “smelled like death,” according to the affidavits. Officers saw flies around the windows and knocked on doors and windows, but no one answered. Police said they became concerned that someone inside might be dead. When officers entered the house, they found Michael Robbins and John Robbins coming to the door. A search of the home then led officers to the two children, ages 8 and 10, sitting in a bathtub half filled with dirty water.
The affidavits said the home was filled with rotting garbage on the floors and surfaces. Police said the children had matted hair that appeared to be infested with bugs. When officers told them to get dressed, the children returned in clothes that smelled bad and were covered with old food stains, according to the affidavits. Police said both children smelled of urine, feces, body odor and stagnant water. The children told officers they had never been to school and did not know how to read or write. Officers also reported that one child had adult teeth growing in badly rotted condition.
Police said officers learned the children had been caring for each other and that Michael Robbins and John Robbins had not been providing them with food. Temple police said the children were immediately removed from the home and taken to McLane Children’s Hospital. A later search found mouse and rat feces, maggots and other bugs in the sink, rotting food on a kitchen counter covered with bugs and flies, and no clean area in the home, according to the affidavits. Police said neighbors told officers the children had not been seen outside the home for several years.
The case has moved into the legal process in Bell County. Police said Child Protective Services and the Temple Police Department Investigations Division responded to the scene after the children were found. Michael Robbins and John Robbins were taken to the Bell County Jail. Jail information reported after the arrests listed bonds of $60,000 each. Court records available through the initial reports did not show whether either man had entered a plea or retained an attorney. The investigation remains open, and police have not released additional details about the children’s long-term placement or medical conditions.
The affidavits described a home where the odor, flies and lack of response first led officers to fear they might find a body. Instead, police said, they found two children who had been living in isolation and filth. The children’s statements about school and reading added another layer to the investigation, which now includes questions about how long they had been kept from classrooms, medical care and normal contact outside the home. Authorities have not said whether other adults are under review or whether more charges could be filed.
The children remained out of the home after the May 20 response, and the two men remained jailed after their May 22 arrests. Police said the investigation is ongoing as detectives and child welfare officials continue reviewing the conditions inside the residence and the children’s care.
Author note: Last updated May 31, 2026.