Florida mom arrested for leaving 4 kids alone during 5-day work trip.
Mother arrested at airport
A Florida mother accused of leaving her four children home alone during a five-day work trip to Las Vegas left them unsupervised for around 16 hours a day, while their babysitter lived about two hours away, police said. Irene Miller, 50, is facing four counts of child neglect after authorities said she left her children, aged 9, 11, 12 and 14, at their home in Kissimmee while she travelled to Las Vegas on October 18. A babysitter hired by Miller would drop the children at school around 8 am and return at 4 pm after they came home, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. The eldest child, 14, was outside riding his bicycle when the accident happened. The children were placed in the care of their father, Mark Miller, 53, who was arrested in August over an alleged domestic battery incident involving his wife.
He returned after noticing emergency vehicles outside the home, authorities said. The sheriff’s office said the children could stay with their father despite a court-ordered no-contact order between the parents. However, the caretaker did not stay overnight and lived near Tampa, around two hours away, leaving the children without adult supervision for much of the day and night. Police also found that although the house was clean and well maintained, there was relatively little food in the refrigerator for the four children. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.