Killeen Woman Charged with Abandoning Children
A 25-year-old woman in Killeen was recently arrested when one of her daughters called police after begging her mother to return home for several hours.
According to our news partners at KWTX, Lydia Ivette Gonzalez, also known as Lydia Ivette Padron, was recently charged with abandoning/endangering a child without intent to return. Padron was initially arrested for a traffic violation and taken to the Killeen City Jail, but has since been transferred to the Bell County Jail.
Her children told police that they were home alone and scared. Lydia's daughters, ages 7 and 4, were left alone some time around 9 pm on December 14, and called police December 15 at approximately 5:15 AM.
Officers who arrived at the residence noted garbage, dog feces, and urine on the floor of the home. The girls also showed police text messages in which they asked their mother to return home several times.
Padron told police that she was with friends drinking and playing card games. Padron also stated that this was not the first time she had left her children at home alone. Authorities say that Padron did not have a legitimate reason for having left her two girls by themselves.
At what age did you start leaving your kids home alone? What age were you first left home alone?