SerpApi.Org
Police found three children in soiled diapers at a Missouri home in January, including one with a head injury authorities say came from banging against a wall for hours
NEED TO KNOW
Key Takeaways
- Courtney Lynn Box is accused of leaving her three children in a Springfield, Mo., home for about a whole day in January
- Box allegedly claimed she was gone for an hour but police say cell phone records show she was gone nearly 24 hours
- She has been charged with multiple counts of child endangerment
A Missouri mother is under investigation after police allege her three children — 1-year-old twins and a 4-month-old — had been left alone at home for nearly a day.
Courtney Lynn Box was arrested on Saturday, July 11, on multiple child endangerment charges months after her three children were found abandoned in a Springfield, Mo., home on Jan. 10, according to a probable cause statement obtained by PEOPLE.
The investigation began after Box’s neighbor reported there were banging noises coming from the residence for hours.
Officers and fire department personnel responding to the scene found a 1-year-old sitting on top of the stairs banging his head against the wall, the affidavit states.
Once officers entered the house, they found the child’s 1-year-old twin and an approximately 4-month-old baby in heavily soiled diapers that were leaking urine and feces.
The child who'd been hitting his head against the wall had a swollen eye and a head injury, according to the affidavit. Police also allegedly found a bag with crystal residue on top of baby formula in the kitchen, the affidavit says.
Box allegedly told police she’d left the children for about an hour to go shopping for her birthday, but police determined through cell phone records that she’d been gone for nearly 24 hours.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Box has been charged with three counts of first-degree child endangerment and one count of neglect or abuse of a child, according to her online court records.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, her records show.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
Read the original article on People
