A mother in Tennessee is in jail after allegedly leaving her 2-year-old daughter alone at home for more than nine hours.
Shelby Bradshaw, 33, is accused of child abuse and neglect, according to jail records from the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office.
According to local ABC affiliate WKRN, Bradshaw arrived at her and the child’s apartment complex in Greenbrier, a city just over 20 miles north of Nashville, on Thursday morning to find police waiting for her.
They were reportedly called to the apartment complex after a maintenance crew discovered the toddler alone in the apartment during a routine check. Police began searching the complex for the child’s mother.
Greenbriar Police Officer Curt Allen told WKRN that he was the first officer on the scene and found the child in her crib.
“I walked up to the bed and the little girl stood up in the crib and put her arms up like she wanted me to pick her up and I did, so I held her until a family member got there — probably 25, 30 minutes after the call came out,” Allen recounted to the reporter. He stated that the experience was upsetting.
“You could tell [the child] was trying to figure out what was going on,” he told me. “She was scared [and] nervous — and once we got in there and picked her up, she seemed fine that we were there and maybe just happy that someone was in the house with her at that point.”
When Bradshaw arrived, allegedly more than nine hours after leaving the child alone, police greeted her. Body camera footage shows officers confronting Bradshaw, who appears perplexed as to why police were present.
She allegedly told police that she had driven about 25 minutes away to see a man. She reportedly stated that her daughter usually sleeps through the night and that she planned to be present when the girl awoke.
“She stated that she is a full-time mother and needed a break, and that she had attempted to rely on others the night before but was unable to locate anyone,” Detective Joseph Chelini of the Greenbrier Police Department told WKRN.
According to records, Bradshaw is currently in jail on a $25,000 bond.
According to WKRN, the child is staying with relatives while the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services conducts an investigation.
