From the Associated Press:
Calif. Husband, Wife Leave Sons Home Aloneby JULIANA BARBASSA
Associated Press WriterMANTECA, Calif., Jan 5, 2006 - A husband and wife who found a dog sitter for their new puppies, but left their 9-year-old son home to care for his younger autistic brother while they celebrated the new year in Las Vegas, were arrested Wednesday, police said.
Jacob Calero, 39, and his wife, Michelle De La Vega, 32, left Calero's sons _ Joshua and Jason, 5 _ at their San Ramon home early Friday while the newlyweds headed out of town for a five-day trip, police said.
The children's mother, Cristina Calero, died of breast cancer in 2003 and Jacob Calero married De La Vega last year.
Joshua, interviewed Wednesday at his maternal grandmother's apartment in Manteca, said his dad and stepmother got each other puppies for Christmas, and went so far as to bring the pug and the poodle-Maltese mix to De La Vega's mother before leaving town.
"I thought they loved them more than us," the boy said.
Read the whole story (ABC News)
And more...
S.D. Woman Admits Putting Baby in LandfillBy CARSON WALKER
The Associated Press
Wednesday, January 4, 2006; 9:30 PMELK POINT, S.D. -- Saying she was afraid of how her boyfriend would react, a woman admitted Wednesday to throwing away her newborn, whose body was found in a garbage bag at a Nebraska landfill.
Lori Schultz, 21, pleaded guilty in Union County court to second-degree manslaughter, in an agreement with prosecutors. She could receive up to 10 years in prison at sentencing, set for Feb. 28.
Read the whole story (Washington Post)
I feel sorry for the kids, but the parents certainly don't deserve to be parents. It's amazing to think that we need a license to drive a car, own a gun, and even fish, yet there's no qualification for being a parent other than having a functional reproductive system.
Update: And one more, just because it's so apalling:
Mom Jailed After Deputy Finds Kids, 7-Day-Old Outside Without CoatsUPDATED: 9:08 pm EST January 7, 2006
NEW CARLISLE, Ohio -- A woman was jailed after a deputy said three of her young children and her newborn were outside alone Friday in freezing weather -- without coats -- as she slept soundly on a sofa.
Rosetta Welbaum, 25, faces four counts of endangering children, a misdemeanor that carries up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
Three of the children, ages 2, 3 and 4, were still outside when Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Chad Eubanks arrived at the home, where the door stood open. The youngest was covered in urine and feces, and none had coats, hats or gloves, the sheriff's office said in a release.
Temperatures hovered around 30 degrees on Friday, and wind made it feel like 17 degrees.
Eubanks found Welbaum sleeping inside. As he tried several times to wake her, the 4-year-old girl alerted him to her 7-day-old brother, lying face down and covered on a chair. The baby had reddened, cold skin, and the children indicated they'd been playing outside with him.
The infant and 2-year-old boy were treated for hypothermia at Mercy Medical Center of Springfield. All four children were released to their father, who was not at home when they were outside.
Read the whole story (NewsNet5)
It just boggles my mind.
I completely agree with the licensing issue. Anyone who wants to have a child should be required to take a mandatory course on parenting and child psychology before they can reproduce.
Well - if it took four tries for the cop to wake her she was either drugged, or just a new mom with four little kids!
Seriously - don't castigate the woman if she was just exhausted from caring for three little kids and a newborn. Kids get out of the house all the time, play in almost anything and have no idea that taking a 7day old outside is bad. Yes - she should have had a babysitter with her if she was so tired. No - she might not have been able to afford it.
If the woman was deliberately negligent (kids were starving, ignored and not cared for, allowed to play in feces without being told that is bad, sent out in freezing weather without clothing, etc) or abusive, throw the book at her.
This is the reason why premarital sex is not allowed in most churches.
I think even if you get someone pregnant, you should evaluate if they should be together to produce another child.
In the case of the San Ramon couple, Jacob Calero should not have married his deceased wife (when he got her pregnant even if she asked him to, while vacationing in Manila and trying to recover from a broken engagement). As his sister recounts...
Obviously, he is not ready for one child, more so for another child.
"This is the reason why premarital sex is not allowed in most churches."
I'm not sure I see the connection, Jeremy. Just because someone waits to get married before having sex doesn't mean he/she is fit to be a parent.
The no pre-marital sex policy of most churches is based on religious beliefs. If it has any relationship to people's ability to parent, it's a spurious connection at best.
I grew up in church, and we are often advised "no" to premarital sex not only as a religious thing but also on a practical level...if you are not ready to commit to someone in marriage, you are definitely not ready to commit to having a child.
I think Jacob's problem started even before having Joshua Calero was born. If he is irresponsible enough to go on vacation to a third world country and have sex to the first willing girl without protection, I could see he would be irresponsible until now to leave his kids, even before his ex-mother-in-law has actually picked up his kids, as she promised earlier.
The problem nowadays is that "free sex" is so rampant.
3,800 women have an abortion everyday. THAT'S 3,800 BABIES BEING KILLED EVERYDAY!
3,800 women and men committing a crime everyday.
THE HYPOCRISY OF PEOPLE. A pregnant lady gets killed, its double homicide. But a mother kills her baby, its legal. A struggling parent leaves a child home alone knowing grandma is on her way, its a crime.
"Mom Jailed After Deputy Finds Kids, 7-Day-Old Outside Without Coats"
okay. it SOUNDS like the kids just opened the door, started playing outside, and the mom just happened to fall asleep. i do blame her for not being able to keep the kids inside, but the article weaves this incredible tale that SOUNDS like she threw them outside to die. it seems kinda obvious to me that they kids (little as they are) took the baby outside to play with unbeknown to the mother (who had fallen asleep) and did not care to put on clothes! the children are LITTLE! they do not know better. it's shocking that she had them like that, but can't you understand that accidents happen? we are after all, human. responsibility should be taken, but i feel this article was woven with false accusations.