Mom goes to Italy, leaves six kids home alone

Greeley Tribune ^ | 2-12-03 | Mike Peters

[Pat Bateman]

Mom goes to Italy, leaves six kids home alone

Children now in foster care; police waiting for mother to return

Story by Mike Peters

Police want to talk to a Greeley mother who is accused of leaving her six children alone earlier this month while she took a two-week vacation to Italy with her boyfriend.

No charges have been filed, so the woman's name has not been revealed. Greeley police have recommended child-neglect charges to the Weld District Attorney's Office, which will be deciding if the case warrants criminal charges.

According to police spokesman Sgt. John Gates, the woman left for vacation on Feb. 3, and her oldest child, a 15-year-old daughter, was supposed to be in charge of the others. The other children are 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12 years old.

Police were called to the home in the 2400 block of 17th Avenue on Feb. 4, the day after the mother left. When officers went to the house, the 15-year-old was not at home, and the siblings said she was at a youth group meeting at their church.

The girl returned home while police were there, and she told officers their mother left $7 in cash and her credit card for them to use to buy food.

Officers said there was ample food in the house.

The mother also left each child a contact sheet, with names of people they could call in case of trouble.

However, most of the names were illegible.

The grandmother of the children lives in Denver and was not able to care for the children.

Their father lives in Thornton and is under a restraining order to meet with the children only on supervised visits.

While police were at the Greeley home, two teenage boys came into the house. They were the 15-year-old's boyfriend and a friend of his, officers said.

None of the children knew where their mom was in Italy, although she told them she would e-mail them daily.

Weld County Social Services was called to the home by police, and the children were placed in two foster homes.

Gates said officers are still waiting for the mother to return.

[from occupied ga]

I guess she just needed some time to herself < /sarcasm> I wonder if she'll come back pregnant.

[Northern Yankee]

Ping...

Ahhhh...

She must have been after some good canoli.

Darn.... just can't get the good stuff anymore around here.

[Yeti]

Their father lives in Thornton and is under a restraining order to meet with the children only on supervised visits.

Must be because he is a bad parent, unlike her.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I expect to get flamed, but children at that age can take care of themselves and the younger ones for a couple of weeks. I don´t remember being helpless from ten on.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

And no, I wouldn´t get up and leave my children for two weeks for an Italian vacation. I´m just saying children aren´t as helpless as the social police think they are.

[GOP_Proud]

As the youngest of eight, my older siblings played babysitter a lot. An evening out to dinner...sure. Two weeks...no way.
The contact list was illegible...did she email?(not that it helps how I feel). Totally irresponsible.

[yarddog]

Some 15 year old girls are perfectly capable of looking after their siblings.

On the other hand, this does sound like a pretty sorry Mother.

[Theyknow]

Obviously a Rat. She wanted the children to find themselves.

[tahiti]

"Police were called to the home in the 2400 block of 17th Avenue on Feb. 4, the day after the mother left."

I am sure that the person who made this call was "feeling" pretty good about themselves that they had done the "right" thing.

The fact that the children are no removed from their biological mother's care and are now in the "state" foster care program, this disruption in their lives is more harmful then being taken care of by your older sister while your mother is gone.

If the "dogooder" really wanted to help, why did they not spend an hour or two in the evening feeding and supervising the children to make sure they were safe and taken care of.

Oh, but that might take some effort.

Instead call the cold, sterile "state" to come in and make things worse.

Good call.

[AppyPappy]

If the "dogooder" really wanted to help, why did they not spend an hour or two in the evening feeding and supervising the children to make sure they were safe and taken care of.

Oh now there's a good idea. And if anything happens, the mother can SUE them.

[TLBSHOW]

QUESTION IS WAS THE CREDIT CARD GOOD?

[kaboom]

I expect to get flamed, but children at that age can take care of themselves and the younger ones for a couple of weeks. I don´t remember being helpless from ten on.

What if there is an emergency? Can a 15 year old consent to medical treatment for the others?

[Tennessee_Bob]

Sounds like something my ex would do.

[TontoKowalski]

Well, I don't generally act as advocate for the nanny-state, but sometimes action is called for. The children are being ripped from the loving arms of a mother who voluntarily zipped off on an Italian holiday with her boyfriend, leaving her 15 year old daughter solely responsible for herself and 5 preteens.

As has been said, this isn't like she went off for a date, or even an overnight trip. Two weeks. One 15-y-o girl totally responsible for the care and feeding of those children. Meals, bathtime, washing clothes, cleaning up, getting off to school, emergency medical care, on and on. Not to mention the dangers she left them open to.

That just isn't right, and if I had lived next door to this crap, I would have called it in, too.

[JIM O]

Yore right the little bastards should get jobs.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Here's a better question - why didn't the mother make arrangements with neighbors for taking care of the kids - seems a responsible parent would do that.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Not to mention that when the police showed up the 15 year old was no where to be found, but her boyfriend and pal were going in and out of the house.

So in essence, the kids were left in the care of a 12 year old. Nice.

[pabianice]

Wait, wait; don't tell me! Mom is a registered Democrat?

[Hila]

They were probably going to do well alone, the catch is that the stupid mother's actions now bring more consequences on the innocent children. The children did not need to have police and government interfere in their lives. Stupid motherhood sucks.