MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis mother is behind bars, charged with four counts of child abuse and neglect after police say she did not care for her three children and nephew like she was supposed to.
“We are doing fine,” Delvin Fitzpatrick said when asked about his children. He says his three kids and nephew are safe inside his home on Winter Run this weekend, despite police reporting the small children were neglected by his wife, Jasmine Fitzpatrick, Friday morning.
“They are not being neglected now. I’m their father. I have them with me right now,” Delvin Fitzpatrick said.
Police said they spotted the Fitzpatricks’ 5-year-old and 1-year-old sons, along with their 3-year-old nephew, outside by themselves at the intersection of Winter Run and Spring Morning Court.
Officers asked the little boys where they lived, and the children pointed to their house on Winter Run.
Inside, officers found a 1-year-old little girl in a crib with a dirty diaper.
Police said the house smelled of urine and feces, and there was barely any food in the kitchen.
“I have kids, that’s just unbelievable. It really is. I have no words for that, that’s crazy. You make sure they are safe and loved and taken care of,” said neighbor Charlene Marshall.
Also inside the home was Jasmine Fitzpatrick. She told police she had just fallen asleep, and the boys had a history of escaping the house through the window.
While police were at the home investigating, Fitzpatrick’s sister Star Montgomery showed up. Officers discovered she had warrants out for her arrest, and she was immediately taken to jail.
When the father arrived at the house, police said DCS released the children to his custody. Delvin Fitzpatrick said he’s working to get everything straightened out, and his kids will be OK.
“I’m cleaning up. Everything’s being taken care of,” Delvin Fitzpatrick said.
Jasmine Fitzpatrick remains in jail on $8,000 bond.