New Haven police have charged a mother with risk of injury to a minor after her 2-year-old daughter was found naked, walking toward an intersection in the city.
Police responded to Chapel Street and Ellsworth Avenue at 9:51 a.m. on Monday when a resident reported a 2-year-old wandering alone and naked, police said.
The caller told police that she and another neighbor grabbed the little girl and made sure she was OK before calling police.
One neighbor provided a diaper for the child and pointed out the house she believed the child lived in, police said.
The mother, identified as Amanda Sellers, 23, told police she was unaware her child was missing, police said.
She said she'd been asleep and her daughter knew how to let herself out. The back door had been damaged after an unrelated incident in which someone tried kicking it in, Sellers said, according to police.
Officers said they found the apartment door open and the common door unlocked.
Police noted that conditions in the apartment were unfit for a child, including a strong smell, a non-functional kitchen and food and garbage on the floor.
The state Department of Children & Families responded and placed the child in the care of a relative.
Sellers was arrested and charged with risk of injury to a minor.
