Greenbrier, TN — A Tennessee mother is behind bars after authorities say she left her 2-year-old daughter home alone for more than nine hours.
Shelby Bradshaw, 33, is facing charges of child abuse and neglect, according to the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident unfolded on Thursday morning when a maintenance crew performing a scheduled check at Bradshaw’s apartment in Greenbrier, located roughly 20 miles north of Nashville, discovered the toddler alone inside. The crew immediately contacted police.
Greenbrier Police Officer Curt Allen reported that he was the first to arrive and found the child alone in her crib.
“I walked up to the bed and the little girl stood up in the crib and put her arms up like she wanted me to pick her up and I did, so I held her until a family member got there — probably 25, 30 minutes after the call came out,” Allen told the station.
“You could tell [the child] was trying to figure out what was going on,” he said. “She was scared [and] nervous — and once we got in there and picked her up, she seemed fine that we were there and maybe just happy that someone was in the house with her at that point.”
As officers canvassed the apartment complex to locate the child’s mother, Bradshaw returned — allegedly more than nine hours after leaving the apartment. Police body camera footage captured the moment officers confronted Bradshaw, who reportedly appeared confused by their presence.
Bradshaw allegedly told police she had driven approximately 25 minutes away to visit a man and claimed her daughter usually sleeps through the night. She reportedly assumed she would be back before the child woke up.
Bradshaw was arrested and is currently being held on a $25,000 bond. The child is now in the care of relatives, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services has opened an investigation.
