HOUSTON — A Houston mother is charged with abandonment after leaving her two children home alone for five days while she was on a cruise, according to court records.
Police did a welfare check on April 9 after a witness told them neighbors in the luxury high-rise apartment complex on Katy Freeway told her that the children were home alone and they were worried about their safety, according to court documents.
Neighbors said they saw Lakesha Woods Williams, 29, leaving with luggage on April 4 around noon and never saw her return. They said this is not the first time something like this has happened.
Officers found the children, a boy and girl, inside the Memorial City-area apartment they described as being in “disarray,” according to court records. They said trash and leftover food was all over the apartment and it smelled like urine. The children told the officers their mother left for a cruise on April 4, and they did not know when she would be back. Court records say officers found a camera in the apartment that Williams used to watch the children and talk to them while she was away. The 8-year-old boy also had a phone he used to text Williams while she was gone.
The Houston Fire Department was called to make sure the children were not injured or malnourished. Child Protective Services was also called. The children were released to the custody of their aunt, according to court records.
Deputies tried to contact Williams, but court records say she was not cooperating and kept changing her whereabouts.
They arrested her Thursday night. She appeared in court Friday where she received a $25,000 bond.