Why were you hiding from us? >> Cuz I just always have to go back home and I don't like it. >> You don't like it at home? Okay. >> I want to be with them. >> On January 22nd, 2022, Florida police received a report of a runaway child. When found, the girl, only in third grade, broke down in tears, begging to stay with her grandmother instead of going back home to her parents. >> You okay, sweetheart? What grade are you in, honey? >> Third grade. >> Third grade. Okay. >> Such a pretty girl. >> You are. Why were you hiding from us? >> Cuz I just always have to go back home and I don't like it. >> You don't like it at home? Okay. Okay. Well, >> I want to be with grandma. >> Where does your grandparents live? My grandma lives in Connecticut, but mommy and daddy say she's just mean when she's not and they and they never let us go there. >> Okay. >> How are your mom and dad mean to you? What do they do that's mean? >> They do smile and I'm so much and and and hard. >> Okay. >> Here's some water, baby. Drink drink a little water. Okay. They say it's too hard. They just say do it or or you don't get your meals. And then they lock me in my room at night and and they lock the door. >> Okay. >> You don't like it over there where you live? >> Why not? >> Mommy's always being telling me. >> From the very first words, her innocent plea pulled back the curtain on a household void of warmth and safety. Yet, the mother's reaction left everyone stunned. During the more than 2 hours her daughter was missing, she recounted events as if it were a routine day. >> So, can you tell me a little more of what happened? Cuz I'm just getting here. >> At like 8 or it was actually about 8:15 this morning. >> Okay. >> She got up out of her bed like she just woke up for the day. >> Okay. >> She was like, I'm I have to go to the bathroom. I saw her walk into the restroom and then I started changing her sister's diaper so I wasn't like paying too much attention. >> Instead of panicking and frantically searching for her child, she casually described changing another baby's diaper. This cold indifference was the complete opposite of normal maternal instinct. >> I heard her not in the bathroom anymore, so I looked and I was like, "Luna," and she wasn't in her room. And that's when I heard her by the back door. And then I was like, "Luna." And then I walked over to see her and as I was walking over there she was opening the back door to 30 processing disorder and she had it like basically she was about this size. >> Okay. >> She's always had a thing with like running away or like hoarding things. >> Where does she usually go to >> the that's that's where why we're baffled right now because like she always goes to the same places like always. Which is the neighbor's house right here. >> Which which one? Which neighbor's house? >> This. Hi there. I'm looking for a little girl Luna. I was told she likes to hang out over here. >> She's gone again. >> Yeah. Did Have you seen her this morning? >> No, I haven't. >> All right. Well, if you do, can you call 911? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Okay. Where does she Does she usually come right inside your house? >> No. >> Oh, you did? Okay. Mom said she hangs out here. So, >> no, she don't hang out here. >> Okay. >> That's first time calling 911 when she came here. >> Did she knock on the door last time or just come in? >> No, she she was right there. I was on the um porch. >> Okay. Okay. So, she was just standing outside. >> All right. I'm going to just walk. Hi there. >> They let her run around too much. >> All right. Well, we're going to try and find her. We got a lot of people out now. If you see her, call 911. Okay. >> Sure will. Oh my god. >> Even the neighbors admitted that Luna was often left to roam freely. Her mother's neglect had become a familiar sight in the community. And then Luna's own words became the final blow, exposing the stark truth. A third grader had the clarity to distinguish between being locked up and left hungry at home and being loved at grandma's. Her statement shattered the image her mother tried so hard to fabricate. >> Wash my teeth again and again and they make me do that. And the doors always locked and closed the door in the shower with my clothes on. >> They put you in the shower with your clothes on? >> Yes. >> I don't know why. I don't know why. >> When was the last time you ate? When was the last time you had dinner >> or breakfast? >> I didn't have breakfast today. >> You didn't have breakfast today? No, >> yesterday I had dinner. >> So, the last time you you ate was dinner last night. >> And your belly is still hungry, huh? We're going to get you some food. And how many nuggets do you think you're going to eat? Do you think you can eat like five? >> I think she can eat like 10. >> What? How about 15? Could you eat 15 nuggets? >> Yeah, but I Well, we stop at that. But then you wouldn't be you wouldn't have room for cookies. You got to save room for cookies. You know, >> you eat 15 nuggets and a cookie. >> Oh, your belly would have hurt. >> 14 nuggets in a cookie. >> Okay. >> Luna said she was hungry. So, we got an officer going to get her some uh food. >> No, we have food at home. That's that's that's a that's a symptom of her disorder. She will lie and say we have not fed her. She will say she's hungry. She will say whatever. Like she we have food. And like the thing is she has food allergies. Like she's severely allergic to dairy. Like she cannot eat any kind of goat or cow or like any kind of >> chicken nuggets. >> No, she cannot. She cannot. Absolutely not. >> All right. Why >> she cannot? Because there are ingredients into them. >> Like number one, number one, we're vegan. And we're vegan because she is allergic to dairy. And even if we weren't vegan, like those chicken nuggets have milk powder, so the dairy is in it. >> Okay. >> Like >> So what does she eat normally? >> Everything. Like literally we give her nuggets. They're just like glutenfree vegan nuggets. Like we had like we literally she she ran away before she could have her breakfast this morning. We were literally in the middle of making her an oatmeal. >> So what's up with Elelliana? What? Like >> I guess she told everybody that she was hungry and like they're trying to give her chicken nuggets or something, but we have >> No, we won't give her chicken nuggets if she's allergic to it. We're not going to do that. >> And like the McDonald's French fries have like literal like milk and like meat powder in them. Like we can't. Wendy's fries are like literally the only thing, but like she doesn't need fries because like she has wholesome food at home. Like >> Luna is allergic to dairy and vegan, so she can't have any type of chicken nuggets or fries. >> Gotcha. She's good with orange juice though. >> With orange juice. Yeah. But like we literally have like she has a smoothie at home with orange juice in it. Like we have like like the other officer saw we have like a literal fridge overflowing with food. We have like mashed potatoes already made for dinner. Like we literally have food. >> Well, we've got DCF coming out. >> This should have been the moment for the mother to listen and comfort her daughter, but she chose otherwise. Rather than show concern or accept responsibility, she defended herself, insisting they were a model family with plenty of food. It was a textbook display of a mother making excuses instead of caring for her child. In that confrontation, Luna showed no sense of safety near her mother. Her fear of being punished for speaking the truth revealed just how twisted their relationship had become. >> Can you talk to mommy and explain what's been going on? >> Baby, you've been missing. It's been more than 3 hours since you ran out. You ran out without having breakfast or even saying good morning to mommy. You just went to the bathroom and went out the back door. >> You're not in any trouble, honey. >> You're not in any trouble. >> I know what will happen if you leave the house. >> What? What happened? Mom's just going to lock me in. >> She's going to lock in your room? >> Yes. And >> why will she lock in your room? >> Cuz cuz she doesn't want me to tell people that I'm hungry. >> Okay. >> Faced with a frightened child trembling with fear. The officers had no reason to hesitate. The mother was arrested on the spot, charged with child neglect. Luna and her siblings were placed in safe care. That image closed the case on a mother more concerned with control than with her duty to nurture. Motherhood is not just a title. It is a responsibility. Anyone can give birth, but without love, care, and the most basic protection, a house is nothing more than a cage. >> Your baby, you should notice your baby. >> You have more kids, right? >> We have eight. We have in total. >> And then you guys just got kids out of the car one at a time. >> Yeah. On June 30th, 2024, police were dispatched after receiving a report about a toddler abandoned in a vehicle. When they arrived, officers found the child visibly weak after crying for hours. The parents seemed completely unaware of the situation. This was not just negligence. It was a dangerous act that could have easily cost the child's life. While trying to confirm details, one officer went to speak with the child's grandmother to clarify the situation. >> Yes. >> Hi. >> Are you okay? [Music] [Music] Don't go with it. >> The grandmother did not deny or try to cover for her daughter. On the contrary, she provided the information the officers needed. This showed she wanted to cooperate to protect her grandchild. Okay. Yeah. No. doing. Okay. However, the fact that she did not even know exactly where her daughter was living reflected a certain distance and lack of connection within the family. What the grandmother shared only heightened the officer's concerns, forcing them to return to the scene and confront the parents directly. >> Come outside. >> What's your name? >> What? How long you been here? >> How long I've been living here? >> No. How what time what time did you get home last night? >> Uh I I got home at 9:00 around I'd say like around 11 >> 11:00 at night and you haven't left this house since then, right? >> At all. >> When's the last time you drove your Yukon? >> It's not a Yukon >> or whatever it is. Your SUV, your black Tahoe. >> Say my girlfriend. >> What? >> When's the last time you drove the the Tahoe? your mom has. [Music] >> Hey, Enrique, come here. [Applause] >> I want to know what they're saying. >> No, but it's uh it's it's uh Spanish on the phone. I want to know what's going on. >> Okay. Mom's coming. Yeah. Oh, okay. >> We already kept him off. I was trying to figure out, but he said he got here at 11:00 last night. >> Was your daughter late? >> You want to question her some more? >> Yeah. I mean, I just want to know who's driving >> before we do before we do the Wisconsin thing. Question her. >> Cuz it's going to depend on who's driving cuz it might be both going or it might be just >> you guys. We're just probably exhausted from yesterday, right? Six Flags. Six Flags. Probably exhausted. >> Yeah. >> And we should probably sleep though. So many you guys probably just >> So we just kind of ask like, you know, if they remember like what anything about this or have they used the vehicle since this morning? 11:00 last night was the last time they used the vehicle. >> 6:00 last night, right? >> Yeah. Well, like you went to the gym. >> He was driving. >> Like no point lying, bro. We got here. >> We got kids. >> At this point, it's just your honesty is what's going to help. >> Honesty is going to go a long way with everything. >> The father tried to justify himself, saying they had eight children, came home around 11 p.m., and were too tired, which led them to forget one child inside the car. >> And how this goes just when you guys got home last night, just forgot she was sleeping. I'm assuming you guys have You have more kids, right? >> We have eight. We have in total we have eight kids and everybody like we had just had we got home like around almost 12:00 from Six Flags. We still passed by and got some food. We got everybody off but I mean everybody just started getting I got off first and I got some of the kids off and he got off and he got some of the kids off. So, usually we like we work as a team, but I mean I guess yesterday we must have been super tired, but >> okay. You know, at this point is what the best thing is that she's good, right? [Music] >> No. >> But such excuses could not erase the harsh reality in front of them. Fatigue is never an acceptable reason to abandon a fragile life inside a sealed car for 8 hours. It was a clear display of neglect. Seeing the child's face marked from crying all night, the officers could not hide their anger. Just a few more hours and the heat inside the car could have turned into a death sentence. For that reason, they had no choice but to remove the child from the care of such reckless parents. An arrest order was issued. When handcuffed, the mother reacted violently, refusing to accept her arrest. What was striking is that throughout the entire process, she never once asked about her child's condition. Her reaction was not out of concern for the child, but pure shock at losing control. >> My god, what? >> What >> is that how it's going to be? >> Cuz I've been trying to leave the stupid son of y'all ain't going to do nothing. So give me my kid. Let me leave now. >> I don't want You know what? Shut the up. I don't want to bring you your kid because you are a mess. On January 20th, 2024, police were dispatched to a residence after receiving reports of a couple engaged in a heated argument that escalated into physical violence, leaving their infant daughter, barely a year old, injured. When officers arrived, they encountered a mother in a furious state, shouting aggressively. >> My god, what? What >> is that how it's going to be? >> Yeah, this is really how it's going to be. Cuz I've been trying to this stupid son of And you ain't going to do nothing. So if you be my kid, let me leave now. That's what y'all are supposed to be here for. Not for me, for him. >> Wow. >> So until I get my kid, I'm going to be this way. >> Okay. >> Because they have no right. He didn't ask my permission first. >> What are you? I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, I'm talking about my kid being upstairs that I've been trying to get a hold of and get my kid back for the last 5 minutes while I've been waiting for y'all. >> Okay. Did you call >> They called him? No, they called they called you. >> Okay. Why' they call? >> How the am I supposed to know? All I know is I'm fighting. I don't know. Probably because the piece outside saying that I hit her kid, but the Jordan that did it, it was his >> Okay. I I don't know anything about that, but I'd be willing to >> figure out down here so I can take her and I and leave. >> How old is your child? >> She's a year old and he has done nothing but be me the entire time. >> Can you bring it down? >> No, because you guys would not bring me my kid to know that she's actually in safe hands cuz I don't trust them. >> But where's your kid at? >> Upstairs >> with the neighbors? >> Yes. >> I don't want You know what? Shut the up. I don't want to bring you your kid because you are a mess. You are not fit to parent right now. >> I'm not a fit to parent. Really? >> You are not fit to parent right now. Look at yourself. >> yourself. Yeah, because he sure is. >> All right. Are you Do you have injury at all? Are have you been injured? >> No. >> Why does it matter? >> Why? >> It apparently doesn't be my Why does it matter? >> You know what? If you can't have a conversation like an adult and act like an adult, then I'm not I'm not going to try and force it with you. Let me get so I can leave. [Music] >> Jesus Christ. >> In such a critical moment, a mother should have held her baby close, comforting and protecting her. Instead, what appeared was a woman completely out of control, using her child as a tool in her fight against her husband. To verify what they had witnessed, officers turned to the neighbors, seeking an outside perspective. >> She had stepped into the doorway without me realizing it. about as far in as about your shoulder would have hit about where your badge is on her back. >> Okay. And then that sent her into the wall >> and I don't know if it was hard enough to send her into the wall or if she had exaggerated it. I don't know. >> Okay. Then what happened? >> And then after that she she hit me. She shoved me. I took her to the ground. >> She continued trying to hit me telling me to let her go. I said, "When you're calm." >> Okay. And where was your kiddo during all this? >> In her pack and play. >> Okay. >> In the living room. Okay. uh live dining room area and then I grabbed our daughter and I went to go upstairs and she shoved the door shut behind me, shoving me and our daughter into the door frame and the back of our daughter's head hit the door frame. >> Are you injured at all, Chris? >> Not that I'm aware of. >> No. Okay. Uh and daughters with the neighbors. Is that right? >> Yes. >> Okay. I'll go and touch base with them. >> Even outsiders felt pity for a child forced to grow up in chaos while her own mother lacked even the most basic tenderness. she or you were getting the child to remove the child from the apartment. She slammed the door and the kid's head got caught in the door >> and slammed the door shut and in doing so her chest made contact with my back. >> Okay. >> Which pushed me forward and made it contact the the door frame. >> Okay. >> Hard enough for she start it took her a couple seconds and she looked at me like >> gave me that look like what just happened and then she started to realize that it hurt and she didn't cry for more than a couple of minutes. That's the reason I'm taking her to jail. Um is because that's child. Um what is Can you spell Kane's name for me, please? >> C A T H A I N. >> Um I will have to forward this report to DHHS. Um are you involved with the case worker at all or anything? >> Uh the only case worker I'm involved with right now is the case worker regarding my other daughter. Okay. >> That is in state custody. >> Okay. Just just so you >> because of her mother, not because of me. >> Okay. Just for the sake of full transparency, I just I have to forward this to them. Um, nothing I haven't just discussed with you will be disclosed. Um, and so we'll do it that way. Okay. Do you have any questions for me? No. >> Okay. I'm going to touch base with the neighbors. >> Those words from the neighbors painted a familiar picture of dysfunction. And the father's account only made the truth clearer. >> Hi everybody. Uh, my name's Ben Doel. Uh, what what's kind of going on? She's obviously I rate. I can't get a statement out of her. >> Every weekend, pardon my language. I'm pissed because the simple fact is you don't put a child in the middle of your fight. >> No, I I hear you. Um, yeah. Did do you guys know what happened or what did you hear or see before? >> Basically, it seems to me that she's extremely insecure because of pass that he's done. >> And so there's constantly a fight every weekend over who he's talking to, what he's doing on his phone, this that and the other. In all honesty, for 2 years now, it's been the same thing. It's constant. I am so sorry for my mouth. I I'm I'm furious right now, dude. >> Don't bother me. None. >> That poor baby has done nothing to anybody. And I listen to the way that they talk to her when she's screaming, throwing a fit. Dude, it's a freaking one-year-old. >> Pick it up, love on it, give it food, change its diaper. Like, they're simple to take care of. Every time a fight starts, it's every weekend. It's almost every weekend. Sometimes it escalates this bad. Sometimes it's not this bad. This is the first time that I've ever heard of her getting hurt during a fight and I absolutely gave her he uh Chris came up, gave Jen the baby. I went downstairs to tell them both they needed to knock off because they're fighting. I have four kids of my own. Three of them right now are gone to the Royal Kids Family Club over there at the church. My littlest one is here and now we have her, which I'm cool with. I love this little girl. >> So, she has injury. This little girl does. She got her head slammed, I guess, is what Chris said, but I haven't seen anything and she hasn't been flinching when you touch her or anything. But it's literally every freaking weekend they're fighting over something. >> And honestly, man, I'm tired of it. >> Not only is it traumatizing my family, like my dog is terrified and she's a huge dog. >> Like she's terrified anytime they start fighting. So that tells you me and her don't even raise our voices very often. The most I'll raise my voice is when it's four kids yelling and screaming, "Yo, keep it down." And it's instantly silent. >> Um, was she crying when when you got her at all? >> Uh, as far as I know. No. >> Okay. >> She's so used to them yelling and screaming like this. I >> I don't feel like she even understands like this isn't Well, of course, she's a baby, you know? >> Yeah. >> I'm literally shaking right now because I'm so pissed. Okay. Like, he came upstairs and basically barged his way past me. I went down there and they were literally fighting at the door, opening and closing, slamming it. And back inside the home, the father recounted the incident in full. While trying to remove the baby from the conflict, the mother shoved the door, causing the infant's head to hit the frame. A child barely one year old had become the innocent victim of adult rage. There was no longer any doubt. Every piece of evidence pointed to the same reality. This child had never truly had a safe home. Everything was now undeniable. Police immediately arrested the mother on charges of child abuse. As she screamed in desperation, the officers knew their decision was the right one. Her cries carried no warmth of maternal concern, only the frantic thrashing of someone who had just lost power. The baby was placed under the temporary care of the neighbors. Finally save.