A 42-year-old Indiana woman was arrested after allegedly giving her 16-year-old daughter a bottle of vodka and leaving her, along with a friend, to watch a 1-year-old — who later was found wandering alone in the street in the middle of the night.
Ashley Ellis was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The incident occurred in the early hours of July 5 outside a residence on the 1700 block of Stevens Avenue in Evansville, approximately 165 miles southwest of Indianapolis, local NBC affiliate WFIE reported.
A female neighbor discovered the toddler, later identified as Ellis’ child, walking in the street wearing a urine-soaked diaper. The neighbor said she heard dogs barking around 5 a.m., looked outside, and saw the 1-year-old repeatedly calling, “mommy, mommy,” local CBS and Fox affiliate WEVV reported. The neighbor brought the child inside and changed her, noting a severe diaper rash and a sore.
When first responders arrived at the home in search of a parent, they reportedly found only Ellis’ 16-year-old daughter and the teen’s 15-year-old friend. Shortly after, the 16-year-old reportedly suffered a seizure and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance.
According to a police interview, the 15-year-old friend said she arrived at the home around 1:30 a.m. and that Ellis had given the teens a bottle of vodka before leaving. The friend stated they each took roughly three shots. She reportedly did not realize there was a toddler in the house until around 2:30 a.m., when she heard the child crying.
The 15-year-old added that both teens were vomiting around 4:40 a.m., at which point the toddler apparently went outside calling for Ellis. She estimated the child had been alone outside for about 30 minutes.
Police made repeated attempts to contact Ellis, but were unsuccessful for two days. When she finally spoke with authorities, she reportedly claimed she intended to be gone only a few hours but panicked upon learning what had occurred. Ellis also refused to take a drug test, WFIE reported.
Ellis is currently being held at Vanderburgh County Jail on $750 bond and is scheduled for an initial court appearance Friday afternoon, according to court records.
