TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Tallahassee woman who was already under investigation by the Department of Children and Families has been arrested on child neglect charges after a small child in her care fell from an 11-foot high window.
Querstin Wilson, 24, has been charged with child neglect.
According to court documents, the Tallahassee Police Department responded to a local apartment complex on March 4, just 15 minutes after midnight. Documents say a witness called 911 and reported that a small-child had fallen out of a second-floor window of a nearby apartment building and advised that a second child was about to jump out the same window.
When officers arrived, they saw the witness on the ground with his hands raised toward a second-floor window. Approximately 11 feet above the ground, a small female child was leaning out. A small child was also clinched to the witness's leg.
The witness told police that the little boy clinched to his leg was the child that had jumped out of the window. The witness, who was a security officer at the complex, said that he was patrolling the property when he heard a child crying.
When he investigated, documents say the witness found the little boy on the ground below the second-story window. Though the witness didn't see the child jump, he believed the child had.
According to court documents, police forced entry into the apartment after no one answered the door and prevented the little girl from falling out of the window.
When the door was opened, police say Wilson came into the room and told officers that she was sleeping when they first knocked, saying that she wasn't aware that one of the children had jumped out of the window.
During an interview with Wilson, documents said that she fed the children, gave them a bath, and said they all went to sleep in her bedroom before the incident. She said she thought everyone was asleep and "did not know her son had jumped out the window."
She told investigators that the child "is very sneaky" and often pretends to be asleep and waits to get out of the bed to play until Wilson falls asleep. Wilson also claimed that the window could not be locked, but officers note that they were able to lock and secure the window before leaving the premises.
When asked if Wilson felt responsible for the child jumping out of the window, she stated it was not her fault. Instead, documents say she blamed it on the child saying, "he is sneaky, and he has a lot of sense."
Documents say the Department of Children and Families was notified about the incident and the child who fell out of the window was transported to the hospital for evaluation. The child who fell had no visible injuries, though he was kept for observation "as he was still traumatized by the incident."
DCF took custody of the female child and confirmed to investigators that Wilson was involved in a child protection investigation that was still pending.
According to investigators, police later found a TV sitting on the floor near the window during a search of Wilson's apartment, which they believe the children used to open the window. In Wilson's bedroom, documents say there was an open bathroom with a tub filled up with about a foot of water.
"Also, there was numerous empty alcohol bottles and used condoms on the floor throughout the apartment and the apartment smelled of marijuana," investigators wrote.
Based on the unsafe conditions of Wilson's apartment and her failure to protect the children, police found probable cause to charge her with child neglect. She was arrested and taken to the Leon County Detention Facility where she remains on a $7,500 bond.
