In a disturbing case out of Indiana, 27-year-old T. Echols—who was on supervised release for the 2019 death of her 6-month-old daughter—has been arrested for leaving her four children alone in filthy conditions for days. Authorities say she put her 8-year-old daughter in charge of her three younger siblings during her absence.
Police took Echols into custody on Monday, charging her with multiple counts of child neglect. The incident unfolded after Echols’ mother contacted authorities, alarmed by a tearful phone call from her granddaughter. According to the probable cause affidavit, officers responded around 9:15 p.m. Sunday to Echols’ apartment, where the 8-year-old revealed she had been alone for nearly two weeks with her 6-year-old, 2-year-old, and 4-month-old siblings. She said their mother had barely been home and was unreachable by phone.
When officers arrived, they found the apartment in disarray. The front door was unlocked, trash and leftover food littered the floors, and the beds had bare mattresses. The 8-year-old said her mother often left her alone to care for the younger children and hadn’t answered calls that day.
About 45 minutes later, Echols returned and told police she had only stepped out for 20 minutes to buy medicine. But after being confronted with the child’s statement, she admitted she had been gone all day. She also confessed to regularly leaving her children alone because she “doesn’t feel like dragging them all out of the house at once.” When asked whether she believed it was appropriate for an 8-year-old to care for a 4-month-old, she had no answer.
Investigators later learned Echols had blocked most of her relatives to avoid arguments over her parenting. All four children were immediately placed in the care of their grandmother, who had alerted police.
Echols had been serving a sentence of supervised release tied to the 2019 death of her infant daughter, who suffered multiple blunt force injuries. The autopsy revealed skull fractures, a severe burn, and several broken bones. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Despite the grave circumstances, Echols avoided prison after pleading guilty in July 2023 to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury. She received two years of home detention and two years of probation—a decision that sparked controversy.
Now, with her latest arrest, Echols is in violation of that probation. A judge has ordered her held without bond, and her next court appearance is set for July 8.
