TAKOMA PARK, Md. (WSVN) — Police in Maryland have charged a woman with child neglect after, they said, she abandoned nine of her children along a major highway, last December.
According to Fox 5, an incident report from Takoma Park Police says 36-year-old Sheri Marshall was taking 10 of her children to a grandmother’s house, on Dec. 16, 2016, when she got into an argument with her 12-year-old son. Shortly after, she kicked him out of their white 1997 Dodge Caravan along the Capital Beltway.
Investigators said the boy was able to contact relatives and get picked up. Meanwhile, Marshall continued to drive with the rest of her nine children, ranging in age between 1 and 11 years old, until the car ran out of gas along the 1000 block of East-West Highway in Takoma Park.
The report states that when the children later woke up in the minivan, on the morning of Dec. 18, they had been apparently abandoned by their mother. Later that day, they ended up walking up the street to La Chiquita Restaurant. The staff gave them a free meal and called police. When officers arrived, officials said, the children had soiled pants and were very hungry, Fox 5 reports.
Marshall was later found wandering through traffic nearby on New Hampshire Avenue. According to police, she was under the influence of illegal drugs.
Marshall was finally charged in the case last week with nine counts of child neglect and nine counts of leaving a child unattended. She is scheduled to appear in court next month.
Police said it took 10 months for them to file charges because they needed to ensure all 10 of the children were placed with various family members. Then they each had to be interviewed.
Marshall has been in court trying to regain custody of her children.
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