BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A Beckley mother is facing child neglect charges after her young child was found outside in the rain, partially unclothed and shivering.
Police responded to a child neglect complaint on June 7 and arrived to find a concerned neighbor holding the child wrapped in a blanket. The neighbor told officers he found the child outside the home with no clothing from the waist down, cold and visibly shaken.
Attempts to contact the child’s mother, 26-year-old Latayia Burkes, went unanswered until officers knocked repeatedly and called out. Burkes eventually came to the door and told police she had been asleep and didn’t realize her child was awake. She claimed she believed her own mother was in the apartment watching the child.
From the doorway, officers observed open alcohol containers and soiled diapers scattered on the floor. Burkes submitted to a breathalyzer test, which showed a blood alcohol level of 0.10%.
Child Protective Services arrived on scene and released the child to a relative without further incident. Burkes was taken into custody and transported to the Beckley Police Department.
Police cited immediate safety concerns due to the weather and the child’s proximity to the road, combined with the mother’s intoxication, as grounds for filing criminal complaints. The case remains under investigation by local authorities and CPS.
