A 20-year-old South Carolina woman, Jocelyn Byrum, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and unlawful neglect of a child. Police reports state that Byrum admitted to taking medication to induce labor at 27 weeks, with the intention of terminating her pregnancy. After giving birth, Byrum allegedly did not provide aid or seek medical assistance for the newborn. The infant was taken to a hospital and was last reported to be in critical condition, while Byrum was denied bond following her arrest.
Read More
Early Tuesday morning, police in Milwaukee arrested two adults after discovering six children, ranging from two months to nine years old, locked inside a storage unit. The children were unharmed, and a 26-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man were taken into custody. Regular customers of the storage facility expressed shock and questioned the facility’s security, noting they had never seen children at the location previously. The relationship between the adults and children, as well as the circumstances of the incident, remain under investigation. The Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office will review the charges.
Read More
The maternal grandmother of an 11-year-old girl who gave birth was charged with six counts of felony child neglect after prosecutors alleged she knew about the pregnancy and failed to report it, along with failing to provide adequate care for the girl and five other children in the home. Michelle Justus, the children’s “caretaker,” is accused of allowing the children to live in deplorable conditions and failing to provide medical care and supervision. The girl’s mother and stepfather were previously arrested and charged, with the stepfather revealed to be the baby’s father. The other children were removed from the home.
Read More
Dustin Walker, 34, has been arrested and charged with child sexual abuse after DNA tests confirmed he is the father of his 11-year-old stepdaughter’s newborn. Initially charged with child neglect, the charges were amended after the DNA results. Cherie Walker, 33, the child’s mother, was charged with enabling child sexual abuse, along with six counts of felony child neglect, for the newborn and five other children that they share, due to unsanitary living conditions. The children have been removed from the home, and the couple’s bond was set at $100,000 each.
Read More
In a shocking incident, a 2-year-old girl was discovered alive inside a suitcase in a bus luggage compartment in Kaiwaka, New Zealand. The bus driver found the toddler during a stop, after a passenger requested access to the luggage. The child, who appeared physically unharmed but was very hot, was taken to a hospital. A woman was arrested and charged with child neglect and was scheduled to appear in court, although her identity was not released.
Read More
Three-year-old Ke’Torrius “K.J.” Starkes Jr. died after being left in a hot car while in the custody of a contracted worker for the Alabama Department of Human Resources. The worker, who had picked K.J. up for a supervised visit with his father, allegedly made personal errands with the child before returning home and leaving him in the car for over five hours. The child was found unresponsive in the vehicle, with temperatures reaching over 90 degrees and heat indexes over 100 degrees. The Alabama Department of Human Resources confirmed the incident occurred during the child’s custody and that the contract provider terminated the worker, with the Birmingham Police Department investigating the death.
Read More
In Bakersfield, California, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty after her one-year-old son, Amillio Gutierrez, died in a hot car. Hernandez allegedly left Amillio and his two-year-old brother locked in a parked car while she underwent a cosmetic procedure at a nearby med spa, where temperatures reached 101 degrees. Despite believing the air conditioning was running, the car had an automatic shut-off feature, and Amillio was found unresponsive after approximately two and a half hours and pronounced dead at the hospital. Hernandez admitted knowing it was irresponsible but offered no justification for leaving the children.
Read More
According to court records, Maya Hernandez, a California mother, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and two counts of willful cruelty to a child after leaving her two young children in a hot car for over two hours. While the children were left in the vehicle, Hernandez was receiving lip filler injections at a spa. The police report indicates that Hernandez admitted it was irresponsible, and she left the car running with the air conditioning on. Tragically, the younger child died from the heat, while the older child survived.
Read More
A 1-year-old boy, Amillio Gutierrez, tragically died after being left in a hot car outside a Bakersfield med spa. His mother, 20-year-old Maya Hernandez, allegedly left Amillio and his 2-year-old brother strapped in their car seats while she attended a cosmetic appointment. Although the 2-year-old survived, Amillio succumbed to hyperthermia, suffering a body temperature of 107 degrees. Hernandez is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty and is being held on a significant bail amount.
Read More
In January, a Florida elementary school principal, Elizabeth Hill-Brodigan, and a teacher, Karly Anderson, were arrested following a house party attended by approximately 100 underage drinkers. One intoxicated minor required emergency medical treatment. Body camera footage shows Anderson appearing intoxicated and admitting to some knowledge of the party. Hill-Brodigan faces multiple charges including child neglect, while Anderson faces charges of disorderly conduct and intoxication. Both were suspended from Brevard Public Schools and are currently free on bond.
Read More
John Q. Hosedrinker