PASCO COUNTY, FL - A woman in her thirties allegedly left her three children alone for over two weeks in a home without electricity or running water, and with only $3 for food.
The mom, 35-year-old Heather Wizbicki, has been arrested and charged with three counts of child neglect. A probable cause affidavit from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) states that Wizbicki left her kids, ages 14, 13, and 9, at the apartment on September 12, Law & Crime reported.
The electricity in the apartment had already been shut off for days, police said. She allegedly did not leave any food, water, or money. She briefly returned on September 24, but only to “collect clothes for herself,” police wrote. Before leaving again, she left $3 for the kids to buy food.
The kids also did not have a phone to contact a family member or anyone for help. “There were multiple days where the children were deprived of food and went hungry,” police wrote.
On September 28, when the children had allegedly been left to fend for themselves for 16 days, a neighbor discovered them and contacted the police. Upon arriving at the home, police described the apartment as “unlivable,” further explaining, “the residence had feces on the floor, rotten food stored in multiple bags, trash throughout the rooms, no running water, and had a foul smell.”
“The smell caused the children to have a hard time breathing, even with all of the windows open,” police said. Wizbicki allegedly left behind a cat in the home and faces an additional charge of confining an animal without food or water.
Police further learned that the suspect was already in jail after her arrest during a traffic stop for tinted windows on September 24 at the intersection of 10th Street and Fifth Avenue in Zephyrhills. During the traffic stop, a police K9 alerted officers to drugs in the car. Police recovered fentanyl.
The Department of Children and Families was alerted and also is investigating. It is unclear what happened to the children, but Wizbicki is not allowed to have contact with them, per her bond conditions. Wizbicki was taken to the Pasco County Jail, where she remains without bond. Her next court date is not yet listed.
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