HOUSTON — Two parents face charges for allegedly leaving an 8-week old infant alone in a parking lot, strapped into a car seat, for nearly an hour.
The baby was rescued by a concerned citizen, who held the baby and kept it warm until authorities could be summoned.
“I was crying because I couldn’t believe it was happening,” said Dee Griffin-Stevens, the good Samaritan who discovered the baby. “I’m holding him and thinking ‘where’s your mom?'”
The mom and dad, according to authorities, both thought the other had placed the baby inside a car.
“Mrs. Shilbey advised she walked out of work with the child in her hand and placed him on the ground,” a prosecutor testified during the initial appearances of Sarah Shibley and Gary Collins, the parents of the baby who face felony child endangerment charges. “She says she thought Mr. Collins grabbed the child and put him into the vehicle. Apparently, nobody did.”
Authorities believe the baby was without his parents for more than an hour and a half until Sarah Shibley showed back up at the scene. The baby has been placed into Child Protective Services custody while social workers look for other relatives who may be able to care for him.
