Kids, 50 Pets Surrounded By Feces, Urine At Philly Home; Couple Arrested: Authorities

PHILADELPHIA — A husband and wife were arrested after authorities found two children and nearly 50 animals living in "deplorable" conditions inside their Northeast Philadelphia home, authorities announced Wednesday.

FBI agents were conducting court-authorized law-enforcement activity at the home around 11 a.m. Tuesday on the 7100 block of Whittaker Avenue.

The nature of the FBI investigation hasn't been revealed as of this writing. But inside, authorities observed hoarding conditions, along with fees, urine, empty food bags and boxes, and several cats throughout the property.

The suspects — Megan Bach, 44, and Thomas Bach, 43 — were taken into custody that day.

Two children — ages 5 years and 8 months — were removed Tuesday from the home, along with 38 cats and a dog. Pennsylvania SPCA officers found 10 more cats on Wednesday and will continue searching the property until they're confident they've found all remaining animals.

Both children were brought to the hospital for evaluation. The animals were brought to the PSPCA's Philadelphia headquarters for forensic examinations and medical care.

No dead animals have been found, a PSPCA spokesperson said. Charges related to the animals are pending.

The FBI is investigating a different matter, which officials have not disclosed. A spokesperson for the FBI's Philadelphia office says agents were conducting an investigation at the property on Tuesday. But no federal charges have been announced or shared in public court records as of this writing.

Megan and Thomas Bach were each charged with:

• two counts of endangering the welfare of a child
• two counts of recklessly endangering another person
• criminal conspiracy
• possession of an instrument of crime
• possession of an offensive weapon

Thomas Bach's bail was set at 10 percent of $125,000 on Wednesday. He's set to return to court July 20 for a preliminary hearing.

Online court records say he was represented by a public defender. The Philadelphia public defender's office hasn't returned comment to Patch as of this writing.

Case information and an attorney contact for Megan Bach weren't immediately available in online court records.

Investigations in the case remain ongoing. Anyone with more information can contact Philadelphia Police. People with information related to the animal cruelty investigation can call the Pennsylvania SPCA’s Cruelty Hotline at 866-601-SPCA or email cruelty@pspca.org.