Police: Woman left child home alone

MIDDLETOWN >> A city woman is facing risk of injury charges after police say she left a young child home alone.

A neighbor told police Cynthia Turner, 26, had asked her to pick up the boy from the school bus on the afternoon of Feb. 14. Turner had told the neighbor the front door would be locked, but that the child could get in through the bedroom window, police said. The neighbor assumed Turner was on her way and was just running late, according to the report.

Later that afternoon, a woman came to drop something off and the child opened the door. The woman asked him if any adults were home, and he said he was home alone, but that it was a secret, according to police.

The woman told the child she was going to call the police, and then the child started crying and said he was going to get beat up if anyone found out and that he would be grounded, according to the report. The visitor then told the boy to keep the door closed and locked and walked to the police station to ask for a wellbeing check.

When police responded to the home, the child appeared nervous and told them Turner was at the hospital visiting someone, according to the report.

Police saw several empty alcohol bottles on the kitchen counter, several half-full bottles of alcohol on the floor next to a bed within easy access to the child and a large amount of food that smelled rotten on the table and counters, according to the report.

The child’s room was in disarray with dirty laundry throughout the room, police said.

When police talked to the neighbor, she told them the boy is always hungry because there is never any food at his house, so she feeds him regularly after school.

Police eventually made contact with Turner and advised her to come to the police station. The boy was taken to the police department as well, but was later released into his father’s custody.

Turner was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor. Bail was set at $5,000 and she was issued a court date for Feb. 28.