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Amara N. Eden, 31, faces five counts of leaving a child younger than age 8 unattended, and two counts of animal cruelty after police found her five children on a filthy mattress early Sunday morning while investigating a report of child neglect. A dog was chained nearby, wallowing in its own waste.

One officer said the squalor was the worst he had seen in more than two decades in law enforcement.

Charges involving the children carry a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail for each charge; charges involving the dog carry a maximum penalty of 90 days.

During a hearing Tuesday in Upper Marlboro, District Court Judge Jean S. Baron denied bond for Eden after a prosecutor said she might try to flee.

Bond for Eden, a native of Nigeria, had been set at $10,000. She also was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Eden told officers she ‘‘would have gone someplace to commit suicide” if she had known police were going to arrest her when she returned from work early Sunday, according to police charging documents filed in District Court.

‘‘The psychiatric evaluation will help determine the course of action for how we proceed,” said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey (D).

A trial is scheduled June 4.

Assistant Public Defender Brendan Callahan, who represented Eden in court Tuesday, could not be reached for comment by press time Wednesday.

The conditions at the house in the 7600 block of Topton Street were discovered by New Carrollton Police investigating a report of child neglect at the house about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

When they entered the basement apartment, officers found five children living in squalid conditions.

Sgt. Richard Hartnett said police could smell the apartment as soon as they got out of their cars.

Once inside, the stench was so intense ‘‘we had to cover our noses up,” he said.

The boys, from 6 months to 6 years old, were alone, hungry and dirty in the apartment on a mattress that smelled of urine and feces, according to court documents.

There were no sheets on the bed and there was broken furniture throughout the apartment.

A medium-sized dog was chained in the living room area in its own waste, the documents said.

Officers saw ‘‘food rotting, with bugs all in it,” Hartnett said, and an unattended pan of food was burning on the stove.

Rice, the police chief, noted black mold in the apartment and said, ‘‘When you walk on the carpet, water would bubble up around your footsteps.”

‘‘I’ve been in some rundown places over the 25 years I’ve been in law enforcement, but I’ve never been in one that bad with people living in it,” Hartnett said.

A resident who lives in another part of the one-story house and called police told officers that Eden works 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. several nights a week and leaves the children unattended, according to court documents. She has lived in the house for about two years, according to the resident.

Eden was still at work at a nursing home in the District when police responded. Police had called Eden and notified her of the situation. She returned to the house about 1:45 a.m. and was arrested, according to court documents.

Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department staff determined all five children required medical attention, including the youngest, a 6-month-old with cystic fibrosis.

A caseworker from the Department of Protective Services stayed with the children as they were evaluated at Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly.

She determined that because of their ages and the conditions in which they live the children had to be removed from the apartment and placed in foster care, charging documents stated.

The Division of Animal Control took the dog.

Korionoff, of the prosecutor’s office, said other or more serious charges against Eden ‘‘are within the realm of possibility, but we have to assess the situation further.”

Rice also said Wednesday that police are investigating whether other residents in the house were running a day care there without a permit.

Charges also could be filed if it is determined that the landlord, who is responsible for providing a safe, clean and livable environment, was aware of the conditions in which Eden and her children lived. The landlord is mandated to report such conditions, Rice said. Tax records show the property is owned by Azmat and Mohammed Asif. Attempts Wednesday to reach the homeowners were unsuccessful.

The house has been condemned and will not be reopened until a cleaning company comes in ‘‘and abates the whole place,” Rice said. ‘‘No one can go back in that house without wearing protective gear.”