PRIDE - After five children were found in a home infested with cockroaches and littered with spoiled food and garbage, court records reveal earlier abuse investigations involving two of the children.

Samantha and Cyrus Mayo were both arrested Oct. 19 and face five counts of cruelty to juveniles. Two of the five children living in the house in Pride were previously the focus of investigations regarding child abuse.

According to parish records, Cyrus Mayo had requested a restraining order that was later dismissed against his ex-wife, Katherine Mayo, who allegedly beat the children with a belt buckle while live streaming on TikTok. The restraining order said the children were afraid to go to school out of fear of being checked out by their mother.

Cyrus Mayo also claimed that his daughter received a concussion after hitting her head on a truck and remained in a bloody shirt for nine hours until she was eventually brought to the hospital.

When the children were brought to a hospital, a doctor reported that the children had rashes, insect bites, scratches, and bruises. The Baton Rouge Police Department arrested Katherine Mayo for cruelty to juveniles.

A year later, DCFS would arrive at Cyrus and Samantha Mayo's house in Pride.

The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said it had been called to the house in Pride three times in 2026.