A Florida photographer’s child was allegedly hit in the head by a falling dumbbell after the mom ditched her four kids at home alone for days while on a work trip to Las Vegas, according to authorities.
Irene Miller, 50, was cuffed last week after emergency responders arrived at her home in Kissimmee, Fla. for a 911 call from a child reporting that her 9-year-old brother was struck in the head by a falling dumbbell, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Deputies arrived and found four children — aged 9, 11, 12, and 14 — with no adult supervision. The 9-year-old was taken to a hospital, treated, and released, police added.
Investigators called Miller over the phone and learned the mom had left for the work trip across the country on Oct. 18, and planned to return home five days later.
Miller, a professional photographer, appeared to be working with a client in Las Vegas who was involved with the real estate brokerage franchise network, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, according to her social media.
The mom told deputies she had a babysitter coming to her home to care for her four kids before and after school, but the babysitter was not required to stay overnight.
The children’s father was then contacted and took all of the kids to his home, cops said.
Police escorted and cuffed Miller just as her plane touched down at a Florida airport on Friday, according to bodycam footage.
She was booked into Orange County Jail and hit with four counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, deputies said.
“The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office will not tolerate child neglect. These cases will be investigated, and charges will be brought against the parents who are not properly supervising or caring for their children,” Sheriff Chris Blackmon said in a statement.
