Bond Is Denied For Mother of Boys Left Alone in Filth
Judge Calls the Charges 'Shocking'
By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 7, 2007; B05
The New Carrollton woman charged with leaving her children unattended in filthy conditions while she went to work was ordered held without bond yesterday by a Prince George's County judge.
District Court Judge Jean S. Baron's decision regarding Amara N. Eden was unusual for a defendant who is charged with misdemeanors. Baron also ordered that Eden, 31, undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
During a brief bond hearing in the Upper Marlboro courthouse, Baron noted that, according to charging documents filed by New Carrollton police, Eden said she would have committed suicide if she had known she was going to be arrested for leaving her five children, all of them boys, in squalid conditions.
Assistant State's Attorney Elveeta Martin said Eden was on suicide watch at the detention center in Upper Marlboro. Martin asked that Baron increase Eden's bond, which was $10,000 before the hearing.
"The allegations are shocking, shocking," Baron said, referring to details contained in police charging documents.
Assistant Public Defender Brendan Callahan asked Baron to release Eden, arguing that she is not a threat to the public and not likely to flee.
Baron noted that Eden is from Nigeria and could pose a potential flight risk. She ordered Eden held without bond pending a June 4 trial.
Eden is charged with five counts of leaving her children unattended and two counts of animal cruelty. Each charge involving the children carries a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail, and the animal cruelty charges each carry a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.
Charging documents allege that police found the children, ages 6 months to 6 years old, about 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the basement of a single-family house in the 7600 block of Topton Street. The children were lying on a sheetless bed that smelled of urine and feces. The infant has cystic fibrosis.
Each child was dirty, hungry and appeared to be in need of medical attention, according to the charging document. In addition, a year-old dog was chained in the living room without food, water or a way out of the apartment to relieve itself. The dog had to lie in its own feces and urine, the charging document said.
After medical personnel evaluated the children, county Social Services officials took custody of them. Animal Control officers took the dog. Eden, who had left the children to go to work at a nursing home in the District, was arrested when she returned home.
The conditions in the basement were so squalid that county officials determined Monday that the house was uninhabitable. A couple that had been renting the upper portion of the house also had to leave, officials said.
After the hearing, Callahan told reporters that a family court judge had granted Eden visiting rights with the children. Eden's psychiatric evaluation will probably occur within a week, he said.
"Our local Department of Social Services had not had any contact with this family," Elyn Garrett Jones, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Human Resources, said. She said officials depend on relatives and neighbors to be on the lookout for possible cases of neglect.
Staff writer Mary Otto contributed to this report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030602178.html
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I love animals, but jeez.
