The parents of an 8-year-old boy who police say was severely neglected before being struck by a car appeared before a judge Thursday.

Despite the allegations, the boy’s father, Mark Ecott, 35, asked a judge if he could contact his children if he is released from custody. Pro Tem Justice of the Peace Lisa Luzaich denied the request.

Ecott, jailed on $20,000 bail, had been barred from contacting all four of his children, including the boy, should he post bail.

Luzaich said the order would remain in place at least until the parents’ next court hearing in two weeks.

Meanwhile, the children’s mother, Aubrey Lambdin, 30, held a sheet of paper up to her face, shielding it from photographers in the courtroom.

During the hearing on Thursday, she told Luzaich that she was hiring a private attorney. Luzaich said Ecott would be appointed a public defender.

Court records show Lambdin was arrested while she had a pending domestic battery case where Ecott was the alleged victim. She is being held without bail.

Both parents face four felony child neglect charges stemming from a Metropolitan Police Department investigation that was launched after their 8-year-old son was struck by a car while playing with his 11-year-old brother on North Las Vegas Boulevard, near Lamb Boulevard.

The crash happened just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

When Metro detectives went to speak with Ecott, police said, they found him outside the family’s home, a half-mile from the crash scene. He was drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette, police said.

Investigators described the home as unlivable, with fire hazards, animal feces, trash and no clean areas for the children to eat.

“There were no clean spaces or areas for the children to eat or clean dishes for the children to use,” police said. “Overall, the state of the home was in such disarray that it is truly indescribable to put into words. The state of the home is not livable for an adult, let alone children.”

‘Both need serious help’

Lambdin told officers she had moved out about two months earlier but occasionally visited the children at a hotel, police said. One of the children, the 11-year-old boy, told police that Lambdin had been at the house two days before the crash.

The boy also told police that when their neighbor pays him for moving jobs, he uses the money to buy food for the family. He said that he had been meaning to clean up the home, but got busy and “likes the way he lives.”

“(He) took a lot of blame about the situation, showing he truly does not understand the parent and child dynamic,” the police described their interview with the child in a report. “He believes that he can clean the home, fix the issues and help his parents be actual parents.”

Debi Lotta, who said she was Ecott’s mother and the grandmother of the children, said Wednesday that the 8-year-old boy was still recovering from a broken leg, a brain bleed, and other cuts at the hospital. The other children were taken to Child Haven, Lotta said.

Child Haven is an emergency shelter for those awaiting placement in foster homes. Clark County officials have said that more than 100 children live at Child Haven, nearly half of whom are under age 7.

The grandmother said she hasn’t taken in the children because she has epilepsy and experiences frequent seizures. She also said she was unaware of the children’s living conditions until Ecott was arrested.

“Hopefully, this will shake these two up so that they can become real parents,” Lotta said. “They both need serious help.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.