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California Woman Charged With Leaving Children Alone for Three Weeks
Aired January 10, 2003 - 14:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the movie "Home Alone" coming to real life in southern California this afternoon.
A woman is facing child endangerment charges after allegedly leaving her kids alone in her apartment for nearly three weeks.
That story now from Michelle Guile (ph) from affiliate station KCAL.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MINDY JEDRY, NEIGHBOR: Actually, I think this right here is exactly, this little slot right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mindy Jedry saw her 4-year-old neighbor peek out from the blinds day after day, never knowing he was home alone for three long weeks, alone with his 7-year-old sister.
JEDRY: Finally Monday -- yes, Monday morning I left, and the little boy was crying. And so I'm walking out, kind of slow, waiting for, like, him to stop, maybe Mom would come and comfort him or something.
And that was, like -- that's when I knew, OK, we've got to do something because something's not right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Placentia police have arrested the children's mother, 31-year-old Janet Chen, for child endangerment.
According to detectives, she left her kids home from December 18 until January 7 with no one to care for them, as she went to North Carolina to meet a man she'd met on the Internet.
What has emerged is a shocking story from authorities about a first-grader who assumed the role of mommy, caring for her 4-year-old brother for 20 days in an apartment with the front door left unlocked.
The girl was instructed to feed herself and her brother frozen dinners, cereal, and finger foods. They passed nights and days sleeping and playing with toys.
CORINNE LOOMIS, PLACENTIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: The girl prepared it. It was all frozen food such as TV dinners, Bagel Bites, corn dogs.
And the fact of the matter is that she -- they had run out of food by the time that the officers got there. They had finished the last of what I believe was toaster French toast that day, and the officers fed them when they got them in their care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ... home from work today and knocked on the door, no one's answering. I have physically have seen the children pulling the blinds aside, and my wife said she heard them in there crying today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Concerned neighbors made this 911 call Monday when they'd finally worried enough, after seeing faces peeking out of the window and a UPS notice that was never removed from the front door.
MELISSA NARDOLILLO, WITNESS: I mean, I hope she gets what she deserves. I'm telling you, it's just sick.
And to think that the little girl, she was the mom for the past three weeks. And they literally were prisoners in their own home. No outside connection whatsoever. It's sick.
Three Weeks>
Aired January 10, 2003 - 14:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the movie "Home Alone" coming to real life in southern California this afternoon.
A woman is facing child endangerment charges after allegedly leaving her kids alone in her apartment for nearly three weeks.
That story now from Michelle Guile (ph) from affiliate station KCAL.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MINDY JEDRY, NEIGHBOR: Actually, I think this right here is exactly, this little slot right there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mindy Jedry saw her 4-year-old neighbor peek out from the blinds day after day, never knowing he was home alone for three long weeks, alone with his 7-year-old sister.
JEDRY: Finally Monday -- yes, Monday morning I left, and the little boy was crying. And so I'm walking out, kind of slow, waiting for, like, him to stop, maybe Mom would come and comfort him or something.
And that was, like -- that's when I knew, OK, we've got to do something because something's not right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Placentia police have arrested the children's mother, 31-year-old Janet Chen, for child endangerment.
According to detectives, she left her kids home from December 18 until January 7 with no one to care for them, as she went to North Carolina to meet a man she'd met on the Internet.
What has emerged is a shocking story from authorities about a first-grader who assumed the role of mommy, caring for her 4-year-old brother for 20 days in an apartment with the front door left unlocked.
The girl was instructed to feed herself and her brother frozen dinners, cereal, and finger foods. They passed nights and days sleeping and playing with toys.
CORINNE LOOMIS, PLACENTIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: The girl prepared it. It was all frozen food such as TV dinners, Bagel Bites, corn dogs.
And the fact of the matter is that she -- they had run out of food by the time that the officers got there. They had finished the last of what I believe was toaster French toast that day, and the officers fed them when they got them in their care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) ... home from work today and knocked on the door, no one's answering. I have physically have seen the children pulling the blinds aside, and my wife said she heard them in there crying today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Concerned neighbors made this 911 call Monday when they'd finally worried enough, after seeing faces peeking out of the window and a UPS notice that was never removed from the front door.
MELISSA NARDOLILLO, WITNESS: I mean, I hope she gets what she deserves. I'm telling you, it's just sick.
And to think that the little girl, she was the mom for the past three weeks. And they literally were prisoners in their own home. No outside connection whatsoever. It's sick.
Three Weeks>
