The Latest: Lawyer cites 'thin' complaints in compound case
AMALIA, N.M. (AP) — The Latest on 11 children found living in a filthy, makeshift compound in New Mexico (all times local):
6 p.m.
A defense attorney says criminal complaints accusing five adults of child abuse at a remote New Mexico compound are sparse in detail, leading to uncertainty about how much investigative work has been done.
Aleks Kostich of the Taos County Public Defender's Office said Tuesday his agency is gathering information and assigning attorneys to the defendants.
He didn't provide further comment, citing the early stage of the case.
The Taos County sheriff says the body of a child was found at the compound where investigators suspect a father took his son after an abduction in Georgia.
The remains have not been positively identified.
Authorities say they found the five adults and 11 hungry children living in filth at the compound.
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2:50 p.m.
A New Mexico sheriff says searchers have found the remains of a boy on property where authorities raided a makeshift compound last week in search of a missing Georgia child.
Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said Tuesday that the remains were found after a search in Amalia. Authorities are awaiting a positive identification of the remains discovered Monday.
Authorities say the search for Abdul-ghani, of Georgia, led them Friday to the squalid compound where they found his father, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, four other adults and 11 children living in filthy conditions.
The adults are facing child abuse charges.
Then father is accused of leaving Georgia in December with his then 3-year-old son.
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12:50 p.m.
A New Mexico man who lived near a makeshift compound that authorities raided in search of a missing Georgia boy believed the group had moved to the area to live off the grid, just as he had done.
Tyler Anderson of Amalia said Tuesday he had helped the newcomers install solar panels after they arrived in December. But he eventually stopped visiting the compound that authorities have since described as filthy.
Anderson says the 11 children found inside the compound at first played at neighboring properties but stopped in recent months.
He also says he never met the three women living at the site and doesn't recall seeing the boy who remains missing.
Authorities raided the compound Friday. Five adults who were living there face child abuse charges.
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12:10 p.m.
A New Mexico man says he and his wife pressed authorities to remove a group of people from a makeshift compound on his land where officials reported finding 11 hungry children living in filth.
Jason Badger said Tuesday that he had concerns about the compound near the Colorado border. But he says the courts and other authorities shot down his attempts to break up the encampment — described as a trailer buried in the ground.
Court records show a judge dismissed an eviction notice filed by Badger against Lucas Morton in June. The records didn't provide further details on the judge's decision.
Morton was among five adults arrested after the Taos County sheriff raided the compound in search of a missing Georgia boy who was not found.
The five adults, including the boy's father, have been charged with child abuse.
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12 a.m.
The father of a missing Georgia boy is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday, which could shed light on a bizarre tale of guns, exorcism and child abuse at a New Mexico compound.
Court records show that Siraj Ibn Wahhaj is scheduled to appear in Taos Magistrate Court. Georgia officials want him extradited to face a charge of abducting his son, Abdul-ghani, from the state in December when the boy was 3 years old.
The warrant says that Wahhaj told the boy's mother he wanted to perform an exorcism on his son.
Police say the search for the missing boy led them Friday to a squalid compound where they found Wahhaj, four other adults and 11 children living in filthy conditions.
The missing boy wasn't among them.
