Overview
- Mobile County deputies were alerted on Jan. 4 after a Dollar General worker reported a 14-year-old stumbling and complaining of dizziness and stomach pain.
- The girl told investigators she had lived alone at the Eight Mile trailer since about February 2025 while her mother and stepfather lived and worked in Pensacola.
- Communication with her parents was primarily via Snapchat, and the mother arranged food through DoorDash and Walmart deliveries, according to the sheriff's office.
- A Jan. 5 search found the trailer covered in urine, feces, roaches, and trash, with seven dogs on the property, one dead in a closet; the surviving dogs were taken by Prichard Animal Control.
- Detectives collected a note titled “How many times mom tells me that she can’t pick me up!” with about 87 tally marks, and arrested Marchelle Pertilla and Eugene Medrano on child abuse and animal cruelty charges, with the investigation continuing.