Patricia A. Childress Kept Girl Locked in Dark Closet

A 25-year-old Florida lady who was already the topic of a warrant for felony little one neglect is going through a slew of further prices after legislation enforcement authorities say she saved her younger daughter “caged” inside a pitch-black closet in her lodge room in a diaper that appeared to haven’t been modified for days.

Patricia A. Childress was taken into custody Thursday and charged with one depend of aggravated little one abuse as aggravated assault and one depend of kid neglect with out inflicting nice bodily hurt, court docket paperwork present.

In line with a possible trigger affidavit obtained by Regulation&Crime, deputies with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Workplace on Thursday, Jan. 27 responded to a report that Childress, who was needed on a felony cost of kid neglect, was at an unidentified lodge. She was staying in a room with a person named Marshall Day, who was allegedly additionally needed on the identical cost, in addition to her two younger kids. The kids had been solely recognized as a younger boy and a younger lady. Their precise ages and relationships to one another and Childress weren’t included within the report.

Upon arriving on the lodge, first responders reportedly knocked on the door to the room being rented by Childress and Day. Childress reportedly opened the door and the deputies entered and started trying to find the 2 kids. After performing a protecting sweep of the room to find the youngsters and be certain that Day was not hiding, deputies had been solely capable of finding the little boy, who was sleeping on one of many two beds.

Per the affidavit, one of many investigators then observed {that a} heavy bin overflowing with a number of baggage of clothes appeared to have been deliberately positioned able to maintain the closet door pinned shut. The deputy then reportedly eliminated the clothes bin from its place and opened the door. Contained in the closet, the deputy discovered the little lady.

“The agent opened the door and found the second little one, recognized as [redacted], had been locked contained in the closet with a small blanket and pillow. The kid was sleeping in a shirt with no pants and a diaper filled with urine and feces,” the affidavit states. “It ought to be famous the closet had no lights, toys, or different objects accessible to the kid and the kid was definitely at midnight whereas contained in the closet. The kid was additionally successfully locked or ‘caged’ into the small closet by the heavy clothes bin and different litter which might have prevented the small little one from having the ability to escape.”

The deputies carried out an interview with Childress throughout which she allegedly tried to justify preserving the younger lady locked up within the closet, saying she solely put the lady within the closet when she sleeps — to forestall the lady and the male little one from combating.

“She simply sleeps in there, I put her in there simply so that they don’t battle at night time,” Childress reportedly stated.

Investigators stated, nevertheless, that Childress then started claiming that the lady put herself within the closet. The affidavit states that Childress repeatedly modified her story relating to how and why the lady ended up within the closet.

An investigator with the Division of Little one and Household Providers responded to the scene and spoke with the little boy. When the investigator requested him why the lady was within the closet, he responded that the lady would put within the closet when she “acts up” in order that he may sleep within the mattress.

When requested how the lady can get out of the closet, the boy stated, “If the cops are coming [redacted] will let her out,” per the affidavit. He additionally confirmed that the lady had been locked within the closet the day before today.

Childress was taken into custody and booked on the Brevard County Jail Advanced simply after 4:30 p.m. final Thursday. In line with on-line jail data, she was launched Sunday at roughly 9 p.m. after posting her $17,000 bond. She is at present scheduled to seem earlier than Decide Katie Jacobus on Feb. 24

Learn the affidavit under.

[Image via Brevard County Sheriff’s Office]

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