Crime & Courts

Parents appear in court in case of child left in closet

By Shelby Reynolds
A maintenance man found the boy shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday when he came into the apartment to repair the air conditioner, said Lucy Alfaro, property manager for Twin Rivers Apartments in the 2300 block of North Somerset in north Wichita. He opened a bedroom closet to get to the breaker box and found the boy lying on the floor.
A maintenance man found the boy shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday when he came into the apartment to repair the air conditioner, said Lucy Alfaro, property manager for Twin Rivers Apartments in the 2300 block of North Somerset in north Wichita. He opened a bedroom closet to get to the breaker box and found the boy lying on the floor. The Wichita Eagle

The parents of a 1-year old child who was left in an apartment closet last spring made their first appearances Wednesday in Sedgwick County District Court.

Destiny Lee, 18, and Donivan Turner, 19, were charged with misdemeanor endangering a child. Judge Joe Kisner entered a plea of not guilty on their behalf. Lee’s bond is set at $2,500, and Turner’s bond is $3,500.

A maintenance worker found the couple’s 1-year-old son in a hot closet of a third-floor apartment on May 7. Lee had driven Turner to his job in west Wichita, police said at the time, and left the child at the Twin Rivers Apartments near 21st and Amidon. The worker was looking for the breaker box in the closet because the air conditioning had been out for a couple of days.

Temperatures in the closet were about 90 degrees, police said. The 1-year-old was left for approximately 20 minutes before the maintenance worker found the child, police said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 13 for both parents.

This story was originally published July 30, 2014 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Parents appear in court in case of child left in closet."

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