Inset: Ashley Ellis (Vanderburgh County Jail). Background: The area in Evansville, Indiana, where Ellis” 1-year-old was allegedly found wandering the streets (Google Maps).
A 42-year-old mother in Indiana has been arrested after she allegedly gave her 16-year-old daughter a bottle of vodka before leaving the teen and her friend alone with a 1-year-old, who was later found wandering the street in the middle of the night.
Ashley Ellis was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
The incident took place in the early morning hours of July 5 outside of a residence located in the 1700 block of Stevens Avenue in Evansville, which is about 165 miles southwest of Indianapolis, local NBC affiliate WFIE reported.
According to the report, a female neighbor found a 1-year-old girl, later identified as Ellis’ child, walking around in the middle of the street wearing a diaper that was soaked in urine.
The neighbor went outside at around 5 a.m. and brought the child to safety before calling 911. During the call, the neighbor told the dispatcher that she woke up to the sound of dogs barking and when she looked out the window, she spotted the toddler repeatedly yelling, “mommy, mommy,” local CBS and Fox affiliate WEVV reported.
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After bringing the child inside, the neighbor said she changed the toddler and noticed that she was suffering from a severe diaper rash and a sore.
Upon arriving, first responders went to the toddler’s home in search of a parent, but they reportedly only found Ellis’ 16-year-old daughter and the teen’s 15-year-old friend. Shortly after authorities reached the scene, the 16-year-old appeared to suffer a seizure and was transported to a local hospital in an ambulance.
In an interview with police, the 15-year-old friend reportedly said she was at the home at about 1:30 a.m. that morning when Ellis gave the teens a bottle of vodka and left. She claimed they both took about three shots of alcohol.
The teenage friend reportedly said she was not even aware that there was a toddler in the home until about 2:30 a.m., when she heard the 1-year-old crying. The 15-year-old further confirmed that she and the 16-year-old were throwing up at about 4:40 a.m., which is when she believed the toddler walked outside calling for Ellis. She guessed the child had been outside unattended for about 30 minutes.
Police made multiple attempts to contact Ellis, but were unable to get in touch with her for two days. When she eventually did speak with authorities, Ellis reportedly said that she had only planned on being out of the residence for a few hours, but panicked when she learned what happened.
Ellis also refused to take a drug test, WFIE reported.
Ellis is currently being held in the Vanderburgh County Jail on $750 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court for an initial appearance Friday afternoon, court records show.
