Background: The neighborhood in Doral, Fla., where Melissa Luckett”s son was found (Google Maps). Inset: Melissa Luckett (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation).
A Florida woman is accused of child neglect after her nonverbal son was found by himself, which her father said was “extremely abnormal.”
Melissa Marie Luckett, 31, posted $5,000 bond after she was arrested on Saturday, after her neighbors allegedly found her 9-year-old son by himself. According to an arrest report reviewed by Law&Crime, a woman who was jogging on Saturday morning spotted the boy wearing nothing but a diaper and “running barefoot” near the road outside a gated community. When the boy kept running toward the road, the neighbor tried to stop him, but soon realized he might have special needs or was nonverbal, police said.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
Police said that the Department of Children and Families was notified and came to the scene to take custody of the boy. After Luckett was identified as the boy’s mother, an investigation revealed that Luckett was last seen on a Ring camera leaving her home the night before at 9:35 p.m. She last spoke to her father on the same night at around 11:00 p.m.
Luckett was seen returning to her home on Saturday at around 3:00 p.m. wearing different clothes.
According to the report, police spoke to Luckett’s father, who had been expecting his daughter and grandson to fly in for a visit to his home in Virginia. They never arrived.
Luckett’s father said his daughter and grandson were “attached at the hip and never went anywhere without each other.” He told police that this behavior by his daughter was “extremely abnormal,” and he feared “something serious may have occurred.”
Police said that Luckett’s father planned to fly to Miami to take custody of the boy and assist with the investigation.
Luckett was arrested on Saturday and interviewed by police. Her statement was redacted in the police report. She was charged with one count of child neglect with no great harm and posted bond on Monday. Her arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 19.
