Two judges in Taos County, New Mexico dismissed child neglect charges against five people who lived in a remote compound in northern New Mexico. Judge Emilio Chavez dismissed the charges against Lucas Allen Morton, Hurjah Wahhaj, and Subhannah Wahhaj after prosecutors failed to ask for a preliminary hearing to present evidence against the trio within the standard window of ten business days.
Judge Jeff McElroy dismissed charges against Jany Leveille and Siraj Wahhaj but charges remain against the pair in connection with the death of Wahhaj’s three-year-old son.
The case came to prominence earlier in August after concerned neighbors asked authorities to investigate living conditions at the compound, which was a trailer dug into the ground and surrounded by a wall of tires. Authorities discovered eleven children aged 1-15 living with the five adults. They also located the remains of Wahhaj’s son, who they believe died in February.
The group moved into the compound in December. In the weeks leading up to their move, the mother of Wahhaj’s son reported him missing after Wahhaj claimed he was taking the boy to the park and never came back.
The authorities charged the five adults after they discovered the children living in filth and squalor. Taos County Sherriff Jerry Hogrefe said they were “the saddest living conditions and poverty” he had seen during his more than three…
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