Angelia Varner, Newton, Iowa mother arrested after toddler falls out second story window after leaving 3 kids home alone as neighbors say she often leaves the infants unattended.
Probably not the parent of the year… An Iowa woman was arrested after her 1 year old toddler child fell out the window of a second floor apartment moments after leaving the family home.
Angelia Varner, 35, of Newton was released on personal recognizance after she was arrested on Monday and charged with one count of child neglect.
Varner’s arrest follows allegations the mother left her three young children alone on Aug. 18 while she went out to the parking lot of her apartment in Newton, Iowa.
Iowa mom frequently observed leaving her 3 young children unattended
According to a criminal complaint, Varner told cops that she left her 3 young kids — ages 23 months, 3 years old, and 9 years old — by themselves ‘for a few minutes’ while she went outside. She told police that she left her 9-year-old in charge of the younger children.
Police stated that several neighbors saw the toddler fall while Varner was outside in the parking lot. The toddler had ‘abrasions and bruising’ to her head after falling about 12 feet, (3.65 meters) according to police.
Police said that when they went inside Varner’s apartment, they saw that the window where the little girl fell had a ‘significantly’ torn screen. The tear created an opening big enough to allow a small child to fall out.
But there’s more.
During police questioning, the mom admitted the screen had been torn for ’several months,’ along with saying that she knew it was open when she left the apartment that day.
In her defense, the parent claimed she was ‘trying to cool the home,’ the complaint noted.
The apartment manager told police that Varner never requested that her window be fixed.
According to the complaint, Varner’s neighbors told police that they often saw the three children ‘play at the open window and/or lean out of it.’ The neighbors also said that they often allegedly saw the children ‘unattended’ and playing outside without their mother around.
The whereabouts of the children’s father was not immediately known.
Varner who was booked into the Jasper County Jail following her arrest was released on her own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 2.
