3 babies taken from squalid Chicago apt.

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CHICAGO, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Three babies found living in rat-infested squalor with their parents on Chicago's West Side were rescued and turned over to relatives for custody, police say.

The children, ages 16 months, 14 months and 4 months, were discovered in an apartment without running water or central heating. Roaches, rats, open containers of alcohol, exposed electrical wires and a toilet overflowed with human waste were found in the apartment, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday.

The parents were charged with neglect and endangerment, the Tribune said.

The babies were taken to Norwegian-American Hospital in Chicago for examination and were found to be in good health, Chicago Police Lt. John Andrews told the newspaper. The children were later turned over to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which said it placed them in the care of other family members.

Police said Latrice Johnson, 23, and boyfriend Kevin Wysinger, 21, were each charged with three misdemeanor counts of endangering the life of a child and three misdemeanor counts of contributing to the neglect of a child.