A woman who was convicted of neglecting children at her fly-infested, rubbish-strewn Perthshire home has been placed under supervision.
A social worker said she nearly vomited as she inspected conditions inside Jennifer Petrie’s three-storey Victorian house.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how black bags, rotten food and human waste was found scattered around the property.
During her trial Petrie, 50, denied she lived in unsanitary conditions and insisted two social workers who gave evidence were wrong, although she stopped short of calling them liars.
After two days of evidence Sheriff William Wood found her guilty of causing unnecessary suffering or injury to the health of five children who were in her care at the time.
He told Petrie her defence case was littered with discrepancies and he did not believe the witnesses she had brought to support her case.
They included Shaun Fair, described as a family friend, who was convicted of stalking Petrie in 2015.
The court heard he had been staying at Petrie’s home, in her ground-floor living room.
Life has settled down
Petrie, who has since moved to Perth, returned to court for sentencing, after preparing a background report with social workers.
Solicitor Steve Lafferty confirmed her life had since settled down but she suffers from health issues.
The sheriff told Petrie: “This is what I suspected might happen, that the report from social work has come back supportive of the notion that you could do with some formal support to help you with the various things you’ve got going on in your life.”
Sentencing her to 18-month supervision order, Sheriff Wood said: “It is hoped that we won’t see you again in court.”
Urine bottle, rotten food, used toilet paper
The court heard social workers Wendy Walls and Angela Brown carried out a welfare check at Petrie’s home on the morning of September 7 2022.
Ms Wall described a car parked outside as “filled with household rubbish,” adding: “I was quite taken aback by how many flies were in the car.”
Petrie answered the door and said she probably had Covid.
Ms Walls and Ms Brown put on PPE before heading inside.
Sheriff Wood had rejected claims by Petrie the pair had somehow forced their way into the house.
Inside, they were hit by an “overwhelming” musty smell.
They found a full bottle of urine and a bag filled with used toilet paper in the living room, as well as stale and mouldy food on the mantlepiece.
There was “stagnant” water on the floor of the downstairs bathroom, with discoloured water and what appeared to be excrement in the tub.
Ms Walls told the trial she was “really taken aback” by the smell in the kitchen.
She described rotten apples among piles of dirty dishes.
There was also concerns about dogs in the house, one of which defecated in front of Ms Walls as she went upstairs.
She said she felt “very disappointed with Ms Petrie, because she had been given a lot of support, guidance and financial support to help her maintain her home.”
Ms Brown, who described conditions as “squalid,” told the trial she was “actually nearly sick because of the smell.”
Petrie attempted to argue that the house was in order, with no flies buzzing around.
She said her fridge, freezer and downstairs toilet had all broken just days before the social workers’ visit.
And she said the council officers did not see hundreds of pounds worth of food in her kitchen, claiming they only checked one of her 36 cupboards.
Petrie had also produced photographs of her tidy home, claiming they were taken within 15 minutes of the social workers’ visit.
But the sheriff pointed out there was no evidence to back up the time frame.
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