Background: The St. Ann, Mo. neighborhood where Crystal Ray allegedly left her children during a severe weather warning (Google Maps). Inset: Crystal Ray (St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office).
A Missouri woman was accused by prosecutors of abandoning her four children, all under the age of 10, during a severe weather warning.
Crystal Ray, 27, was arrested by St. Ann police on March 14 after officials were alerted to four young children — ranging in age from 8 months to 8 years old — being home alone during a “severe weather event,” according to a criminal complaint. The complaint filed by prosecutors stated that when officers finally made contact with Ray, she “exhibited signs of intoxication” and attacked the officers as they attempted to arrest her.
Local CBS affiliate KMOV reported that a family member had called police about the welfare of the children as the weather on March 14 became increasingly dangerous. The criminal complaint stated that “[t]here were brush fires, power outages, downed power lines, and significant debris in the area during the storm.” When officers spoke to the children, who were reportedly “extremely upset,” they told officers that their mother “left while the sirens were going off.”
The complaint stated that the children were likely left alone for “several hours.”
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While details about how Ray was tracked down and found were not provided in the complaint, the prosecutor wrote that she “resisted by wrestling” and by “hitting and kicking” the arresting officers.
Ray was charged with four felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of resisting arrest. She was booked on $75,000 cash-only bail and deemed a danger to her children. She also allegedly “threatened to kill the reporting party.” Her next court date was not made available.
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