Docs: Bloomington mother left 3 children, including a 2-month-old, alone in apartment

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — A Bloomington woman is facing three felony counts of neglect after police say she left her three young children alone in an apartment.

On Aug. 14, an officer with the Bloomington Police Department responded to the 500 block of S. Basswood Drive, the listed address for the Limestone Crossing apartment complex, for a welfare check.

According to court documents, the officer was flagged down by a woman who reported multiple children left unattended inside an apartment. A short time later, the officer managed to get in touch with 28-year-old Brittany Jones, who court documents identified as the mother of the unsupervised children. Jones agreed to return to the apartment and speak with the officer.

In the meantime, the same woman explained she was walking in the area when she saw an 8-year-old girl standing in the doorway of the apartment “crying and screaming.”

The woman said she asked the girl what was wrong, and the girl replied that her arm was hurt at school, but her mother was not home to help, according to court documents. The woman said she and a neighbor soon determined the girl was home alone with a 2-year-old child and a 2-month-old baby, according to court documents.

When they entered the apartment to check on the children, they reportedly saw the two youngest children wearing diapers that were “overflowing with urine and feces.”

The woman told the officer that they proceeded to change their diapers and clean the children as they attempted to find the mother and called the police for assistance.

Another neighbor showed the officer video footage that appeared to show the mother’s vehicle leaving the apartment around 3:30 p.m. The woman said she did not observe the first child alone until 4:10 p.m., meaning they were left unattended for around 40 minutes.

During an interview with police, Jones allegedly admitted that she did leave around 3:30 p.m. and “agreed that it was not acceptable to leave a 2-month-old child without supervision for that amount of time.”

Jones was placed under arrest and transported to the Monroe County Jail, where she faces three counts of neglect of a dependent. All charges are level 6 felonies. Online records show the court set her a $15,000 surety bond and $500 cash bond.

Jones is scheduled to appear in Monroe Circuit Court 5 on Feb. 16 for a jury trial.