Canton woman charged with child cruelty

A Cherokee County woman has been charged with child cruelty after police found a four-year-old girl living in filthy conditions at a Canton apartment.

On Monday night, officers responded to a call from a neighbor concerned about screaming and "sounds similar to someone being thrown up against the wall" at the Northwood Apartments on Marietta Highway, Canton police Det. German Rivas said.

Once inside the apartment of Barbara Jane Miller, the officers were taken to the child's bedroom.

When they opened the bedroom door, "officers were overwhelmed by the smell of stale urine," Rivas said. Once inside the bedroom, "there were soiled diapers on the floor, crusted potato chips and human feces," he said.

"The child was dirty, and it appeared that she had not been bathed in quite a while," Rivas said.

The child was taken into protective custody, and after further investigation, Miller, 44, was charged with first degree child cruelty.

The relationship between Miller and the child was not released.