Kelsey DunniganKelsey Dunnigan, 24, was charged with child neglect Tuesday morning after allegedly leaving three of her children alone at a hotel on East 20th Street for several hours.
Police were called to Chatt City Suites by security personnel who said they had found a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old standing outside in the breezeway. Their room was located and a 6-month-old baby was found lying under some blankets, but there were no adults in or near the room, according to police.
Investigators noted the heat was off on a night when the temperature was below 40 degrees, and the room was in poor condition. The refrigerator was empty and unplugged, dirty diapers were scattered everywhere and there were multiple beer cans as well as a half-smoked marijuana cigarette on the nightstand.
The two young children had full, dirty diapers and were complaining of hunger.
Police discovered the children’s grandmother lived several doors down. She said she did not know where Dunnigan was, but she was able to call her daughter, who said she was on her way home.
Dunnigan told police the children’s father came over around midnight and they went down to his car, where an argument started. She said he wouldn’t let her get out of the car and drove to a home on Bennett Avenue before she was able to exit.
She said she started back to the hotel, but police said she couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation for why she didn’t call her mother to check on the children.
Dunnigan previously had been booked into the Hamilton County Jail on charges of theft and driving on a revoked license and now faces three counts of child neglect. Her next court appearance will be before General Sessions Judge Clarence Shattuck on Feb. 20.