Mackey said the districtattorney accepted child endangerment charges against the mother Friday,but that the charges haven't been processed into the system, meaningdetails like the mother's name aren't yet public.
Six children left home alone while their 33-year-old mom went toNigeria to marry a man she met on the Internet are expected to remainin foster care until a Jan. 16 custody hearing, authorities said Friday.
The children's maternal grandmother, who lives in New Orleans, has promised to attend the proceedings, authorities said.
She told investigators Friday that she was unaware the children wereleft alone Monday in such dire conditions, said Estella Olguin, aspokeswoman for Child Protective Services.
Eight children — including a 3- and 4-year-old who the familywatched for a working single father — were found at a roach-infestedhome Wednesday night with no food, money or toilet paper. The youngest,a 1-year-old boy, was dehydrated, malnourished and lost consciousnessas he was being treated by emergency workers, officials said.
"That was disgusting and deplorable," said Sgt. Dana Mackey with theHarris County Sheriff's Office. "The way they were living is not theway a dog should live."
'A really good explanation'
Mackey said the districtattorney accepted child endangerment charges against the mother Friday,but that the charges haven't been processed into the system, meaningdetails like the mother's name aren't yet public.
Authorities are also investigating the father who left his twochildren at the house, apparently without food and without entering tocheck the condition of the home. The father, a car salesman, was theone who drove the woman to the airport Monday.
He also told investigators that he agreed to pick up her sister at abus stop later in the day, but said she never called to ask for theride.
All eight children are in foster care now and are doing well physically and emotionally, Olguin said.'
In cases like this, parents are given up to a year to clean up their acts and regain custody, Olguin said.
"She may have left thinking her children were in really good hands.... She may have a really good explanation," she said. "In this case,if it's a lack of judgment, if it's chaos happening in the home, thelaw really allows parents up to one year to fix the problem."