By admin 
Columbia Police are accepting donations for three young girls critically injured in a house fire last week that prompted two arrests after law enforcement discovered the children were left alone for at least a week.
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The children have been released from the JMS Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, where they had been in critical condition, police said. The children are in the custody of the S.C. Department of Social Services, the police department said Monday.
Donations of essentials and comfort items will be accepted 24 hours a day, Monday through Wednesday at 1 Justice Square, where the city police department is located, police announced last week.
The Columbia Police Foundation is collecting clothing, hygiene products and money for the children, aged 6, 4 and 2 years old.
They are requesting pull-up diapers of various sizes, as well as body wash, hair care products and other hygiene items, such as toothpaste. Comfort items include stuffed animals and blankets.
Police say those giving should lean to smaller sizing when donating clothes for the children, who Columbia Police Department Deputy Chief Melron Kelly described as “malnourished” Wednesday.
Monetary donations are the most flexible for the girls’ needs, police say. Visit the Columbia Police Foundation website to donate or drop off a gift card. Police ask that those giving online include a note about what they are donating for.
Mother and one father charged
Mother of the three girls, Zana Oden, was charged with three counts of unlawful conduct towards a child last Tuesday. She was arrested less than a mile from the Floran street home, hiding from police in a closet.
The father of one of the children, Mali’k Locke, 21, was arrested on the same charges after police discovered the depth of his knowledge about the girl’s living situation.
The other fathers of the children have been contacted. Police expect the children to be released into emergency custody after treatment. The South Carolina Department of Social Services stepped in following the discovery of deplorable conditions in the home.
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The three children were left alone for at least a week prior to the house fire, investigators say, and were living in bug-ridden, filthy conditions. The lead investigator on the case, Investigator Haley Threatt, said medical personnel found maggots in the youngest child’s diaper, along with bed bug bites on all three children.
Oden, 28, approached the home the night of the fire, but left when she noticed the heavy police presence, prosecutors said at her bond hearing Wednesday.
Both defendants have not yet been released on bond and are being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, records show. Bond was set at $300,000 for Oden and $200,000 for Locke.
Bond was set at $300,000 for the 28-year-old woman who is being held in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Locke, 21, had his bond set at $200,000 and is also being held at the Richland County jail, records show.
Both defendants will be appointed a public defender prior to their next court date, set for Sept. 25.
The fire began near the entrance to the home, according to Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins, though its source remains under investigation. Flames never reached the children, but heat and smoke inhalation caused at least one child to be found unresponsive when firefighters arrived.
Arson is under investigation, the fire department said.
“We have a lot of evidence still to go through,” Kelly said. “Anybody that is found to be harboring or helped in this case will have charges brought against them, that’s how serious we got to be about helping our kids. Absolutely defenseless, these children are.”
The investigation is being conducted in coordination with the Columbia-Richland Fire Department’s fire marshal’s office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact the Columbia Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at (803) 545-3525 or submit anonymous tips to Midlands Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC or through P3 Tips.
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