GREENFIELD — A local woman was arrested this week amid allegations she left her two grandchildren home alone while she went to work, according to court documents.
Jennifer Holmes, 41, of Greenfield, faces two felony counts of neglect of a dependent, records show. Police say Holmes left her 2- and 3-year-old grandchildren at her home alone last week for nearly an hour while she was at work.
Holmes told investigators she didn’t realize she was supposed to be caring for the children, according to court documents.
An Indiana Department of Child Services caseworker called police around 9 a.m. April 18 after getting a tip the two children were alone at Holmes’ house, according to court documents.
When the caseworker arrived to check on the kids, he found the 3-year-old child “standing between the front door and the screen door … and it appeared that she was attempting to go outside by herself,” court documents state. The caseworker went into the home and found the 2-year-old alone in a bedroom. There were no adults in the house, court documents state.
Police contacted the children’s father, who lives with Holmes in Greenfield with his kids. He said he’d left the house around 2 a.m. to visit someone in the hospital, and he asked Holmes to watch the children, court documents state. He said Holmes had agreed to care for the kids, court documents state.
Police met Holmes at work on April 18, and she said she did not know the children were home or that she was supposed to be watching them, court documents state. She said she’d left for work that morning around 8:20.
Holmes faces two Level 6 felony counts of neglect of a dependent, court records show. She was arrested Monday and has pleaded not guilty to the allegations. She was released from the Hancock County Jail on a $1,500 cash bond.