A Tennessee mother has been arrested after allegedly leaving her 2-year-old daughter home alone for more than nine hours while she visited a man, authorities said.
Shelby Bradshaw, 33, is facing child abuse and neglect charges, according to the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office. Police say Bradshaw returned to her Greenbrier apartment Thursday morning to find officers waiting for her.
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Officers had been called after maintenance staff, conducting a routine check, discovered the toddler alone in the apartment. Greenbrier police began searching the complex for the child’s mother.
Officer Curt Allen, the first to respond, found the child standing in her crib. “She put her arms up like she wanted me to pick her up, and I did,” Allen told WKRN. “She was scared and nervous — just trying to figure out what was going on.”
He stayed with the child until a family member arrived about 25 to 30 minutes later. “She seemed happy someone was there with her at that point,” Allen added.
When Bradshaw returned, more than nine hours after leaving her daughter, she appeared confused about why police were at her home. Bodycam footage captured the officers confronting her.
Bradshaw allegedly admitted to driving about 25 minutes away to visit a man, telling police she believed her daughter would sleep through the night. She also reportedly said she’s a full-time mother who “needed a break” and had unsuccessfully tried to find someone to watch her child the night before.
“She made statements that she had tried to rely on others but wasn’t able to find anybody,” said Detective Joseph Chelini of the Greenbrier Police Department.
Bradshaw is being held on a $25,000 bond. Her daughter is now with relatives, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services is investigating the case.
