An East Hampton, Connecticut, woman is facing several charges after her 2- and 3-year-old sons were playing in the woods for hours wearing nothing but diapers on Friday morning, police said.
Julie Root, 27, was arrested shortly after coming home from work. A neighbor called East Hampton police when she had heard the children playing alone by the road in the rain for at least an hour.
When two officers arrived, they found the two small boys walking in the woods on the south side of Flatbrook Road near a stream. The boys were wearing no clothing other than their diapers and they were freezing cold, police said.
An ambulance was called and the boys were taken to Marlborough Clinic for a medical evaluation.
While all of this was taking place, Root walked up to the scene and said she had returned from working third shift at 7:30 a.m. and had possibly dozed off, allowing the boys to slip out of the house.
Root, who is wearing the t-shirt that reads “I Love Weed” in her mug shot, was heavily under the influence of prescription pain medication, police said.
The allegedly bad mother said that the boys’ father, Scott Root, was also home but he had been sleeping during the incident.
The boys were released to the custody of their father after leaving Marlborough Clinic with no significant medical findings or injuries, police said.
Julie Root was released from custody on a $10,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear at Middlesex Superior Court in Middletown, CT., on April 20. She is charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of reckless endangerment.
