You Gotta Be Kidding Me

I read the following story on WHAS website yesterday…

Louisville, Ky.- A woman is in trouble with police again after allegedly leaving her children unattended in a hot car.  This is not her first time in trouble regarding the welfare of her children.

This is a 5-year-old boy’s cry for help to 911 in 2009:

911 operator: Hello?

Five-year-old boy: Who are you?

911 operator: This is 911.  Do you have an emergency?

Five-year-old boy: Yes, I need my momma back.  She’s not here.  I need her here yo.

911 operator: And you’re home alone?

Five-year-old boy: Huh?

911 operator: You’re home alone?

Five-year-old boy: Uh huh.  With my sister and brother. We need our momma.”

Their mom is 25-year-old Shanita Murdock who allegedly left her 5, 3 and 1-year-old children home alone in January 2009. Police estimate the children were left alone for more than 12 hours while temperatures outside where freezing. Murdock faced three counts of wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Now, police have arrested Murdock for leaving her kids alone in a car on Saturday when it was 91 degrees outside while she shopped at a Wal-Mart on Bashford Manor Lane. Witnesses say the kids were inside the car sweating profusely with the windows rolled up and the engine turned off. Police say the Wal-Mart surveillance camera shows the kids were in the car alone for more than 30 minutes before the mom returned.

Her actions are raising questions as to whether she is fit to take care of her three kids. Tara Grieshop-Goodwin of the Kentucky Youth Advocates says there are a lot of factors to be determined before a child should be taken away from their parent.

“I think there’s a big gray area and it’s really hard to define when a parent is fit and when the parent is not,” said Grieshop-Goodwin, who is the Deputy Director at Kentucky Youth Advocates.

Murdock is now facing charges for wanton endangerment, endangering the welfare of a minor and resisting arrest. She is in possible violation of her 5 year probation for her 2009 conviction.

After I read this I scratched my head and all I could think was, “You gotta be kidding me!”  Does she have to kill these kids before someone steps in and takes them away from her?

Years ago I volunteered to be a member of the Foster Care Review Board. I didn’t last long because I couldn’t stand reading about the things that happened to young children. The goal was always to keep them in the home, even if the home wasn’t fit for them to live in.

Remember my post last week about Horse Sense? It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see that these kids need to be removed from this woman’s care. I only hope the children live long enough for someone to do something about it.

 

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