Nationwide — Domonique Knowles, a 32-year-old mother from Westlake, Ohio, is facing potential jail time after leaving her children home alone for nearly three days while she traveled to Florida. Authorities found that Knowles left her children, including her 10-year-old in charge of two 7-year-old twin sisters with special needs, without a phone and only checked in sporadically through FaceTime and security cameras. The judge determined that Knowles had put her children in serious danger.WLBT reports that the incident came to light when the 10-year-old mentioned to her teacher that her mother had ordered them Uber Eats and left the food at the door. Concerned, the teacher alerted the authorities, who conducted a welfare check on the home. When officers arrived, they discovered the apartment in disarray, with liquids spilled on the floor, and one of the twin girls even slipped and fell while they were there.
Prosecuting attorney Michael Maloney expressed his shock at the lack of supervision, emphasizing that Knowles was not adequately checking in. “Remote work is one thing; remote mom is another,” Maloney said, criticizing Knowles for her lack of attention to her children’s needs during her absence. The situation worsened when it was revealed that Knowles had lied to her own mother, not informing her that the children were left alone.
Initially, Knowles denied having left Ohio, but police obtained evidence showing that she spent two nights in Miami. Confronted with this information, Knowles changed her story, claiming she had gone to support a friend who needed liposuction surgery. Knowles was ultimately charged with child endangerment after her story unraveled.
Body camera footage showed Knowles telling officers that her children were capable of staying home alone, to which officers responded that it was unacceptable, particularly given the special needs of two of her children. Investigators also found that a patio door had been left unlocked, raising concerns about the potential dangers the children could have faced, including the risk of wandering off or being kidnapped.
Knowles was found guilty of child endangerment earlier this month and is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. She faces up to six months in prison for leaving her children in such a vulnerable position while she traveled out of state.