Crime & Safety
Police: Girl Sat Cold While Blankets Covered Window
Police said a girl left in a car for more than 8 hours at the Maryland Live! casino had wet herself and had no means to keep warm.
A woman accused of leaving her young daughter in a cold car while she went inside the Maryland Live! casino used blankets to prevent others from seeing inside the vehicle, rather than to keep the child warm, according to new details released by police.
Anne Arundel County Police said the 4-year-old girl was found standing on a seat and crying inside a GMC Terrain SUV, and had wet herself during the eight-hour period while she waited for her mother. The temperature was 34 degrees outside, and officers said there was no indication that the car was turned on to provide heat.
Alicia Brown, 24, was charged with second-degree child abuse and neglect.
The girl was initially spotted by a security guard, who then contacted police.
"There was no food or drink left for [the girl] in the vehicle and no means to stay warm due to the blankets being used to cover the windows," the responding officer said in charging documents.
Security footage showed that Brown entered the casino at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The daughter was found in the car at 6:31 p.m. and her mother emerged from the casino between 30 and 40 minutes later.
Police said Brown acknowledged the girl was her daughter. She initially told police that the girl was in the care of an aunt, but recanted her statement after officers pointed out there were security cameras showing the girl was left alone. She declined to offer an additional statement to police, according to charging documents.
The girl was taken to Baltimore Washington Medical Center as a precaution and then released to the custody of her grandmother.
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