Police find young children alone in home

CUMBERLAND, Ind. (WISH) - Two central Indiana parents are in jail after their infant and toddler were found home alone.

A manager doing routine inspections at Brookshire Square Apartments in Cumberland heard a baby crying and went to check it out. Just before noon, police got the call to the apartments. When investigators showed up, the apartment manager had a 3-month-old infant in her arms. A 2-year-old was inside the apartment.

"At the time, we didn't know … who the parents were," said Detective Vince Semona.

But police soon realized where they had gone. Investigators said not long after they showed up, Clarrissa Brewer and Bruce Daniel Jr., both 20, walked backed to the apartment.

"They were at Walmart, shopping. It's hard to tell or put it together, but about a couple hours they had been gone," Semona said.

And in that amount of time, police took more than 100 pictures inside the apartment for evidence.

"I've honestly seen a lot worse,” Semona said of the conditions, “but it was not any kind of condition those children should be living in. It was very unkept; no food in the fridge, the fridge was mostly full of mold, dirty pans on the counter."

After being questioned, Brewer told police this is not the first time she's left the children alone. Investigators said other parents can learn from her mistake.

"I think the parents think - especially young parents think - their kids are sleeping, they’re 3 months old and 2 years old, they can't do anything themselves so they are OK. We have to remember what can happen to them," Semona said.

Brewer and Daniel have been preliminarily charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent. The children are now in the care of Child Protective Services.