MPD: Child seen playing in cat food outside without a diaper, mother charged with neglect

MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie mother faces a felony neglect charge after police say she allowed her young child to play in cat food outside and called her son “a b***h” when he tried to open the door for officers.

Beth Thomas, 34, was arrested Thursday by Muncie Police on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent, intimidation and resisting law enforcement. Police began investigating Thomas after a tipster told 911 that a young child with no diaper was outside and “playing in cat food.”

Officers were called around 3:30 p.m. Thursday to a home on S. Pinewood Drive to investigate alleged child neglect. Upon arrival, they spoke with a neighbor who pointed out the home where the child was.

Police said they heard a woman and a child talking inside the home, but that no one opened the door. The woman eventually came to the window and reportedly told officers to leave.

“At one point she asked me if I was Jesus,” a police report reads.

Officers were able to identify the woman as Beth Thomas after reading previous police reports. Officials said Thomas was recently the subject of another neglect case conducted by MPD and DCS after officers were called to her home.

The woman allegedly yelled “profane and degrading remarks” at officers while they tried “several different ways” to get her to open the door. She later told officers that she was “loaded” and would kill anyone who came inside, court documents show.

At one point, police said that the woman stopped her child from opening the front door and “called him a b***h.” While standing at the door, officers said they saw a juvenile wearing an oversized t-shirt and no diaper standing on a recliner that had “feces smeared all over it.”

“The inside of the residence appeared to be extremely dirty and cluttered from the outside looking in,” police wrote. “After several minutes talking and attempting to reason with the woman, it was clear she was either under the influence of narcotics or suffering from a mental health related episode.”

Officers said eventually the front door opened and they saw a woman, identified as Beth Thomas, standing at the top of the stairs with a smaller child who was completely naked. Thomas “began throwing children’s alphabet blocks” at officers as she came downstairs.

Officers tried to detain Thomas but she refused and told them to close the door, according to court documents. After pinning her against a wall, police said they were able to handcuff her and take her outside.

Thomas reportedly “attempted to keep officers from walking by dropping her body weight to the ground.” She continued to “jerk away” and forcibly thrash as she was put into the back of a squad car.

The mother was then taken to the Delaware County Jail and given a bond of $12,500. She has yet to be released as of 2 p.m. Friday. Online court records have not yet been updated to reflect official charges or an initial hearing date in Thomas’ case.

Records show that Thomas has a criminal history in Indiana, previously being charged with unlawful drug possession, criminal trespassing, public intoxication, driving without a license and more.