Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Woman Charged With Endangering Child And Adults

   A Lawrenceburg woman was charged with endangering a child and two handicapped adults under her care after leaving them without supervision for an extended period of time during the weekend.

   The charges reportedly came about after a child at the 20 Sunrise Drive home telephoned New Prospect Market and asked employees to send paramedics to the home.

   Law enforcement officials were quickly notified, and when Lawrence County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the home they report that the front door was open with the storm door closed. When they stepped onto the porch, deputies indicate they could see a young boy standing in front of a television set. The boy instructed the deputies to come inside.

   When they spoke with the twenty-nine-year-old resident, she told deputies that her mother had been arrested in Maury County and that she was there with her brother, age 5, and her aunt, age 51. When they checked on the wellbeing of the aunt, deputies report they were unable to wake her or illicit any sort of response, verbal or otherwise. They noted that the woman was bedridden and unable to care for herself.

   Members of the Lawrence County Ambulance Service quickly made their way to the scene to offer aid to the woman. She was then transported to Crockett Hospital for evaluation.

   While they were at the home, deputies report that the mother telephoned to say she would be home in approximately 45 minutes. When she arrived she told deputies that she had been arrested in Maury County and had been unable to “get back as soon as she would have liked.”

   Deputies noted in their report that the home was in an uninhabitable state. They noted that the home was “very cluttered and dirty…roach infested…the residence had no working toilet (it had been broken for three months)…the food in the refrigerator was spoiled…medications were not put in a safe place out of reach of the young boy…the stove was not in working condition – stove eyes were hanging out of the top…There was a bottle of whiskey in the freezer but no food…the refrigerator contained only spoiled ham, ½ loaf of bread and a jar of mushrooms.”

   Deputies report that the young boy told them he had eaten a sandwich earlier, made from the spoiled ham.

   All three residents were transported to Crockett Hospital for evaluation. The boy was later released into the custody of workers with the Department of Children Services. Both adults were placed in protective custody, and referrals were made to the Department of Adult Services.

   The mother, Mary Alice Conner, age 51, was placed under arrest at the hospital on charges that include one count of child endangerment, one count of child neglect, and two counts of willful abuse or neglect of an adult.

   Conner is scheduled to answer the charges through Lawrence County General Sessions Court on April 7.

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