‘Disgrace of a mess’: Children found living in filth-filled home while mother stayed with boyfriend, police say

By Raquel Ciampi

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    VANDERGRIFT, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Warning: The details in the following article are disturbing

A mother and grandmother are facing charges of endangering the welfare of five children in Vandergrift after police said the kids were left alone without food and water for several days.

Police were first called to an alley on July 28, 2025, where four children between the ages of 16 and 9 were involved in an altercation.

When authorities talked to the four children, the eldest allegedly told police they could not speak with their mother because she had not been home for days.

The 16-year-old told authorities she was taking care of her and her siblings but had been trying to get in touch with their mother because they did not have any water, a criminal complaint states.

Police say when they arrived at the home with the children, they noticed a pungent smell coming from the residence. The children led authorities through the home where police say they had to “avoid stepping on large feces droppings all over the residence, rotten food and urine pooled all over the floors.”

The complaint says the tub was filled with dishes, dirt and the shower spigot was broken off.

“It was very obvious that water had not been on in a long time,” the reporting officer wrote in the affidavit.

In addition, the bedrooms for the children were covered in filth and had bunk beds made of plywood. Officials say there were no mattresses or cushions, just deflated air mattresses.

The affidavit continues to note leaking pipes and what appeared to be feces and urine all over the floor in a living room area, and multiple other rooms.

The children allegedly told police they did not have food or water and had been eating free lunch at a school from Monday through Friday.

According to police, the children said their mother, Heidi Lynn Beer, was living with her boyfriend in Pittsburgh and would allegedly come back and forth between the two homes.

The boyfriend, John Kenny, allegedly would beat the children and choke one with a belt.

Kenny would tell Beers to abandon the children and live with him so “he can give her a new and better life without them,” the report states.

When the children’s grandmothers arrived, one allegedly told police she had not gone in the house in months “because it is too gross.” She also stated she was aware the children did not have water, adding that the children would fill up empty cat litter containers at her home.

Authorities say that as they were leading the grandmother through the home, she yelled at the 16-year-old for not cleaning up. The 16-year-old told her she had been trying, but it was too much, the report states.

Police allegedly reprimanded the grandmother, reminding her it was not the “children’s responsibility to clean this absolute disgrace of a mess.”

Vandergrift Police Chief Dan Anthony said the children were left in the care of other family members when the investigation began last week.

Beer is facing multiple charges, including five felony charges of endangering the welfare of children and five misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person.

The grandmother, Leslie Keller, is also facing five felony charges of endangering the welfare of children.

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