GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – A couple living in Gainesville was arrested for reportedly leaving two toddlers home alone for eight hours, leading to the death of a three-year-old girl and injury to the other child.
According to the Gainesville Police Department (GPD), on Sept. 1, officers responded to a home located on Northwest 43rd Street after receiving a report of a child being unresponsive. The caller, the child’s mother Donrea McLaughlin, told police she took a nap and her boyfriend, Sean Lee, woke her up several hours later. McLaughlin told police she found the child not breathing.
When officers and EMS arrived at the home, they found the three-year-old unresponsive. She was transported to the hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to GPD.
Detectives say their investigation revealed that 22-year-old McLaughlin and 26-year-old Lee allegedly left the three-year-old and her sibling home alone for eight hours. According to detectives, both suspects went to work and left the children unattended. When they returned home from work, the child was found unresponsive.
Police say there was a long history of abuse and neglect in the home which contributed to the death of the one child and injury to the other. According to detectives, the sibling who survived received treatment at a local hospital.
Police say during the investigation, the couple left their Gainesville apartment and fled to Atlanta, where they previously lived. A warrant was obtained for both suspects.
GPD detectives, along with Alachua County Sheriff’s Office detectives and U.S. Marshals, were able to work together to arrest the two in Atlanta. Both were charged with felony murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse, and two counts of child neglect. They will be transported to the Alachua County Jail where they will be held on a $4.5 million bond.