Woman facing more charges after body, dead animals found in Myrtle Beach area home

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – A Myrtle Beach woman is now facing more charges after a death investigation led to authorities discovering a home in “deplorable conditions” last week.

Police arrested 37-year-old Krystal Pinkowski at the home Thursday. As of Friday, records showed she faced three counts of unlawful conduct toward a child at the time.

Over the weekend, more charges were added to her jail listing, including abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult.

A police report obtained by WMBF News states police arrived at the home in question, located on the 8000 block of Highway 814, for a possible death investigation.

Alissa Mertine, who lives next door to the house, recalled seeing her neighbor’s home flooded with police officers, fire trucks and ambulances.

“We saw an ambulance pull up casually. No lights are on. Followed by a fire truck and a lot of people started to come in and out of the house, then the police started to show up. You know one, two, three, four,” said Mertine. “When it hits that close to home we can feel a little uneasy if you will.”

When they arrived, officers said they found a victim lying naked on the front porch.

Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard confirmed an elderly woman was found dead at the home. Willard said the case remains under investigation so the identity and details of the death won’t be released until her autopsy is completed this week.

While at the home, officers said they conducted a security sweep where they said they found deplorable conditions.

An incident report shows the home was infested with cockroaches.

There were children living in the home, and the hallways to their rooms were so littered with garbage and feces, the officers couldn’t see the floor, according to the arrest warrant.

The warrant also stated that the bathroom wasn’t accessible because of the amount of garbage that was piled inside of it.

“The kitchen was infested with bugs and the refrigerator was blocked by garbage and animal cages,” according to the warrant.

Online records also show Pinkowski faces 15 total counts of ill-treatment of animals. The arrest warrants state officers found five cats living in “inhumane and unsanitary” conditions, a decomposed white rabbit, four bearded dragons that appeared to have died from “prolonged neglect,” six snakes and one tarantula living in “inhumane and unsanitary” conditions, seven snakes that appeared to have died from “prolonged neglect,” four dogs living in “inhumane and unsanitary” conditions.

Mertine and other neighbors who wanted to remain anonymous said they didn’t know what was going on but did see garbage piling up in front of the house months before police got here.

“There’s just a whole lot of junk and that truck has been sitting there. It seems like they are always in or out. You know they were not very clean just messy and not put together well,” said Mertine.

Pinkowski also faces other charges, including violating an overgrowth vegetation and debris ordinance, failure to register a vehicle and other miscellaneous offenses.

Online records show she’s being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center as of Sunday afternoon on a $101,000 bond.

As for the house, WMBF News reached out to the homeowner who was renting out the house, she said she has been attempting to evict the family for a while.

The homeowner added she tried to get a routine house inspection but Pinkowski never let her in.

Stay with WMBF News for updates.