By Shereen Siewert
A 29-year-old woman is accused of leaving her 3-year-old child in a bathtub while she fought with her boyfriend outside of her Weston apartment.
A 1-year-old child was also found walking around in the apartment and a stove burner had been left on, according to court documents.
Police say the 3-year-old was discovered sitting in a bathtub with 6-8 inches of water. Neither child was injured.
Nichole Griffin faces two counts of child neglect and two counts of disorderly conduct along with charges of possessing narcotic drugs, making a threat to a judge, prosecutor or law enforcement officer; and battery/domestic abuse. The charges were filed Dec. 30 in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Griffin is free on a $150 bond.
According to the police report officers responded at about noon on Dec. 28 to a home on Sternberg Avenue for a report of a man hitting a woman in the hallway of an apartment complex before leaving the building. The caller told police the woman was then seen hitting the man with a shovel in the backyard area.
When police arrived they discovered Griffin outdoors looking for a dog that had escaped during the argument. After the dog was retrieved, officers returned with Griffin to the department and found the children alone inside with the stove burner turned on, according to the report.
“As I was trying to have a discussion with Nichole Griffin about Nichole leaving her two children unattended inside the apartment, Nichole Griffin seemed to be more concerned about her dog running off,” the report states.
As the investigation continued another officer allegedly discovered a plastic bag containing nine pills identified as Acetaminophen and Hydrocodone, a schedule II controlled substance.
A review of the timeline involved suggests the children were unattended for about 15 minutes. The case has also been referred to Social Services.
Police say Griffin declined to identify the man she had been arguing with.
A preliminary hearing for Griffin is set for March 19.
