A troubled Pennsylvania woman — who previously spent two days behind bars for smothering her 2-moth-old son to death in her sleep after an alcohol and marijuana fueled bender — was slapped with more child endangerment charges after a 2-year-old boy she was babysitting escaped while she was asleep.
Arissa Ward, 32, was babysitting the toddler on Tuesday morning, when the tot was “found in the middle of the road” on West Main Street in Windsor, Pennsylvania State Police told Law & Crime.
It was a nippy 37 degrees outside when the young tot was found wandering in the road with no shoes or socks, according to the criminal complaint and probable cause affidavit cited by the outlet.
A passerby spotted the young boy and contacted the police.
Officers canvassed the area where the boy was spotted and alerted Children and Youth Services who told cops “to check Arissa Ward,” who lived in the area who had a troubled past when it comes to caring for children.
Ward, a mother herself, was previously charged and consequently convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, after falling asleep and smothering her 2-month old baby to death while drunk and high on marijuana, but only spent two days in prison after receiving a slap on the wrist.
Troopers knocked on the troubled-mother’s door, where she allegedly told them “I’m babysitting and I just woke up. What is going on?,” Law & Crime reported.
Officers asked Ward if she was “missing a kid,” to which she shamefully replied, “Yes, yes, but he is not mine,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Troopers asked Ward for an explanation after advising her that the young toddler had been in police custody for two hours.
“My kids and I were asleep…I didn’t know he opened up my door,” Ward allegedly told the troopers.
The disgruntled babysitter explained that the 2-year-old’s mother had dropped him off with her at 6:30 a.m. while she was asleep with her children.
The toddler’s mother told police that Ward’s front door was unusually unlocked when she dropped her son off — and she walked upstairs and took her son into Ward’s bedroom, which had the door open, and had to wake Ward up.
The troubled babysitter eventually woke up and the toddler’s mother placed him in bed with Ward, when she immediately fell back asleep and had to be woken up again by the mother, according to the affidavit.
The tot’s mother claimed she did not close Ward’s bedroom door and is not certain if the baby gate was latched behind her, though she did pull the front door shut as she left.
Ward texted the toddler’s mother around 9:19 a.m. and said “Good morning babe!! Whatcha doin. B – where is you.” The mother responded with “Hey girl!!!! Im at work lol. I was a little later today hope i dont get into trouble lol,” according to police.
Around 30 minutes later, it is alleged that Ward texted the boy’s mother saying, “Where’s [the boy]???”
The toddler’s mother called Ward five times, with each call going to voicemail before she received a call from the police advising that her child was in police custody after being located wandering in the street.
Ward was consequently arrested and slapped with a felony charge of child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering another person.
These new charges come after Ward spent just two days in prison in 2018 after she pleaded no contest to the involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment charges she was slapped with, after suffocating her 2-month-old son in her sleep after drinking and smoking marijuana in 2016.
Her 2-month-old son died of asphyxiation — and marijuana was found in his system, which was allegedly ingested through breastfeeding.
The disgruntled mother appears to have a troubled past with drug use and allegedly tested positive for marijuana just six days before she was sentenced in 2018, The Patriot-News reported at the time.
Ward was meant to serve at least three months behind bars in line with Pennsylvania state sentencing guidelines, but was given a slap on the wrist by the judge overseeing her case.
The judge hoped the lighter sentence would be an opportunity to “do a little bit of penance,” allegedly telling Ward “This will be a chance to prove yourself.”
Ward posted bail in these most recent charges and is due back in court on May 5.
