Inset, from left: Kenneth Neal Conley and Tamara Ann Conley (West Virginia South Regional Jail). Background: The Raleigh County Courthouse, West Virginia (Google Maps).
Authorities in West Virginia arrested a 46-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman after they purportedly left their three young children alone and unsupervised for over 12 hours in an apartment cluttered with dangerous items. During their absence, the children allegedly engaged in a knife fight and were exposed to harmful chemical spray.
Kenneth Neal Conley and Tamara Ann Conley were detained last week and charged with gross neglect of a child, which is a felony that involves creating a considerable risk of severe bodily harm or death. This development comes according to court documents reviewed by Law&Crime.
The case against the couple began on October 1 when Sophia Police officers responded to a welfare check request at the couple’s residence in Sophia, located approximately 60 miles southeast of Charleston, West Virginia.
Upon arrival, law enforcement discovered three young children — aged 8, 10, and 10 — unsupervised in the apartment for over 12 hours, as detailed in a news report from Charleston’s ABC and Fox affiliate WCHS, referencing a criminal complaint filed in Raleigh County Magistrate Court on October 2.
The complaint alleges that, while unsupervised, the children participated in a knife fight. They also reportedly used a chemical spray against each other and had access to a firearm found in the residence.
Inside the home, authorities also allegedly recovered drug paraphernalia and residue that tested positive for methamphetamine, both of which were said to be within reach of the juveniles.
“This neglect created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury and exposed the children to controlled substances,” authorities reportedly wrote in the complaint.
Police on Oct. 2 obtained a warrant for the parents’ arrests, and Kenneth Conley and Tamara Conley were both taken into custody on Oct. 8. They were processed and are currently being held in the Southern Regional Jail.
A magistrate judge set the bond for both parents at $10,000. They are currently scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Timothy P. Deems on Thursday for their preliminary hearings.
