(WHDH) — A woman is facing criminal charges after authorities say she abandoned a young boy for nine days in a squalid home without food, water, or electricity.
Autumn Lee Beede, 39, of Cantonment, Florida, was arrested Saturday and charged with child neglect, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies conducting a welfare check at Beede’s residence on Valentine’s Day spoke with witnesses who said a boy had been living in the home by himself without water or electricity from Feb. 5 to Feb. 14, according to an arrest report obtained by the Pensacola News Journal.
A second witness reportedly told deputies that the condition of the home was not suitable for a child.
One deputy wrote in the arrest report that he noticed a “heavy odor of fecal matter” upon entering the home, the newspaper reported.
The boy is said to have told investigators that he survived by visiting friends and neighbors to ask for food and water.
The boy also said that he hadn’t seen Beede since before Christmas and that the electricity and water had been off for about a month.
Beede was released from jail on Sunday after posting $5,000 bond, records indicate.
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