"Jane" LEONARD - 15 mos - Orlando FL

Cops: Mom Went To Universal, Left Baby Home Alone

October 29, 2010

ORLANDO, Fla -- An Orange County mother was arrested for leaving her 15-month-old baby alone for seven hours so she could go to Halloween Horror Nights, Orlando police said. She was charged with child neglect.The child is in DCF custody Friday. Officials said she had two other children taken away from her for neglect.

WFTV was there when 28-year-old Kendra Leonard walked out of jail Friday afternoon. She walked around the parking lot and across the street looking for family and friends who were not there to pick her up.

"Why would you leave a child alone for seven hours?" WFTV reporter Mary Nguyen asked.

But she ignored WFTV's questions. For hours, police thought Leonard was in danger and launched an air and ground search. Police says Leonard left her baby at home alone to go to Universal's Halloween Horror Nights with a friend, but when she didn't have enough money to get into the theme park, she decided to hang out at CityWalk. While she was gone, someone broke into her apartment.

"The first thing I thought about was the baby. Oh my God, they say they can't find her. The baby's been crying all day. And, oh, this, and, oh, that and, oh my God. My heart just dropped," relative Cynthia McKenney told WFTV on Thursday night.


Kendra Leonard mug shot

Family members of Kendra Leonard worried throughout the evening Thursday, after police found her apartment broken into and her 15-month-old daughter alone. A bloodhound was brought in to help search for the child's mother, but police were stunned when the woman simply appeared at the scene after many hours had passed.

"After about seven hours, the mother walked up to us and, after further investigation, we were able to charge the mother with child neglect," explained Lt. Arnold Alvarez, Orlando Police Department.

Leonard told police she was out with a friend and acknowledged that she simply left her child home alone and, in a shocking turn, the apartment was burglarized while the baby was alone in her crib. Fortunately, the baby was unharmed.

"The child is fine, the child is healthy. There are no issues with the child," Alvarez said.

Police found the child in a dirty diaper and she was surrounded by popcorn, which is one of the biggest choking hazards for small children. The home was also filthy and with no running water. There were roaches all over the apartment. DCF said this was not the first time Leonard has been accused of neglect. She was recently investigated in September and officials say she has lost custody of two other children in the past because of neglect.A judge decided Friday morning that the baby will remain in state custody for now. Officers continue to investigate the apparent burglary.