HOUSTON – A mother is accused of abandoning her 12-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son in a filthy hotel room.
Houston police said Friday that officers responded to a hotel room in the 2900 block of West Sam Houston Parkway South on Wednesday and found a 12-year-old girl alone and the baby boy sleeping in soiled diapers. The room was filthy, and no suitable food was available for the baby, according to police.
Recommended Videos
Court documents say both children were left alone in the hotel room for an extended period of time and were malnourished and dirty. Police said the 12-year-old told them that her mother had hit her with her closed fist and had taken her out of school to care for the baby.
The daughter told police she had to borrow money from friends for food. Documents show she said that sometimes her mother comes home from work, and sometimes not. The 12-year-old did not have her mother’s phone number and had no meaningful way of contacting her mother in the event of an emergency, records show. Documents said the 12-year-old also showed officers photographs of injuries that she said came from her mother striking her. Records show the girl told police that she fed the baby macaroni and cheese.
Documents also noted this: “Officers described the room itself as something resembling a (iconic Houston TV reporter) Marvin Zindler-inspired nightmare of unsanitary living conditions, with broken bottles on the floor, drugs in plain view, slime in the refrigerator and moldy food haphazardly strewn throughout. To quote the late Mr. Zindler, “It’s hell to be poor.” It is even worse to be a poor and neglected child.”
In the same document in which authorities asked for a 75,000 bond, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office noted the mother, Ashli Rene Lock, 38, also has a pending DWI in Harris County. Lock was previously convicted of felony theft and felony possession of a controlled substance.
Lock is now charged with abandoning a child with intent to return. She has posted a $1,500 bond.
Child Protective Services took custody of the children and turned them over to family members.