A Middletown mother is accused of leaving her 2- and 6-year-old children home alone with only a can of pumpkin pie filling for food and has been arrested.
Police officers responded to the family’s Woodbury Circle residence after a woman called authorities just before 4:30 p.m. on April 27.
The caller told police that she had gone to the home to retrieve some clothing and the 6-year-old opened the window, said she and her 2-year-old sister were home alone and could not open the door, according to the arraignment report.
The 6-year-old opened the door for the police officer who responded and said her mother, 25-year-old Victoria Reyes, had left with their 4-year-old sister to get food for them, according to the arraignment report.
The two children were sharing a can of pumpkin pie filling that police said had been partially opened with a large kitchen knife. The 6-year-old told police it was the only food in the house and they were hungry, according to police.
Reyes came back to the home around 15 minutes after the officer arrived and told the officer that she’d been at a friend’s home in the complex, trying to find food, but police noted not seeing anyone walking in the complex.
The kitchen and bathroom in the apartment were dirty, police noted. The bathroom smelled of feces and there were dirty diapers and used tampons on the floor, according to the arraignment reports.
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At 5:40 p.m., someone else arrived at the home with food from McDonald’s and told police that Reyes had been texting him and she was not completely truthful about what had transpired, according to police.
Reyes was arrested, charged with two counts of risk of injury and released on a $5,000 surety bond. She is due in court on May 8.
Authorities called the state Department of Children and Families and said the children were left in the home because DCF has an open case, put a safety plan in place and ordered that the residence be cleaned up.
