Babysitter charged in 5-year-old's death

[yesphan]

Source: CNN

(CNN) —A woman who was babysitting a 5-year-old who fatally shot himself Monday with her gun has been charged with abandoning or endangering a child, a felony, and jailed in Orange County, Texas, police said Wednesday.

Bail was set at $250,000 for Melissa Ann Ringhardt, 19, said Clint Hodgkinson, chief deputy with the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The death was "avoidable," according to Hodgkinson, who said Ringhardt failed to secure the gun while she was caring for the boy, John Allen Read, and a 6-month-old, both children of Kayla and Joe Read.

Read more: http://www.koco.com/news/national/boy-5-shoots-self-in-head-as-sitter-naps/-/9844074/22588758/-/qhrg87z/-/index.html#ixzz2iZqynq5N


Read more: Link to source

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This will never end.

[bullwinkle428]

1. Absolutely horrible. But I'm still trying to figure out after

reading the story whether the gun belonged to the babysitter or the parents. It says she "removed gun from safe", but it also says she was carrying a gun because she didn't feel safe being there by herself.

[Blue_Tires]

3. I guess she was one of those live-in au pairs

Melissa Ann Ringhardt has lived with the Read family for several months, looking after 5-year-old John and his 6-month old sibling. On Tuesday, she allegedly left her .40-caliber handgun on a coffee table and went into her bedroom to take a nap.

When she woke up, Ringhardt searched for John, eventually discovering him dead in the living room. The 6-month-old was unharmed. Because the house did not have a phone, she carried both children to their grandparents’ house, where she called 911.

Ringhardt told investigators that she carried the gun because she was afraid of being in the house alone.

Ringhardt is being held in the Orange County Jail on a felony charge of abandoning or endangering a child, the county sheriff’s office said. If convicted, she faces a sentence of six months to two years.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonvingiano/a-5-year-old-is-dead-after-he-found-his-babysitters-gun-and

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. "...she was afraid of being in the house alone..."

Gun culture stupidity. It is safe beyond percentages to be in a house alone with small children. Ridiculous.

This is like the gun nut shitheads who are terrified of being beaten to death on the streets (usually by the "negroes&quot .

Imbeciles and ideologists run our gun laws, and contribute directly to the deaths of these children.

[Demobrat]

17. Scared of WHAT?

What IS it these gun nuts are so afraid of? Has the NRA got them convinced that gangs of escaped convicts are going to invade their homes at any moment? Or are they scared the gun nut next door is going to blast his way in and steal their beer?

[rocktivity]

20. Sounds more like drug culture stupidity

Drugs would explain why she thought nothing of leaving the children and her gun unsupervised, and why she slept so "soundly" she didn't hear the shot. Was she given a sobriety test? The lady doth gets high too much, methinks.


rocktivity

[rocktivity]

22. UPDATE 10/29

Last edited Tue Oct 29, 2013, 08:53 PM - Edit history (2)

The babysitter arrested after a 5-year-old accidentally shot himself with a gun that investigators say she left within his reach was intoxicated on marijuana the day of the shooting, according to a probable cause affidavit... link

Hooray for me. But I still wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that she wasn't the only adult in the room...if you'll pardon the expression...


rocktivity

[rocktivity]

18. She was alone, in charge of a child, a baby, AND a gun,

Last edited Thu Oct 24, 2013, 07:24 PM - Edit history (2)

and left them ALL unsupervised to TAKE A NAP???

She's getting off easy with just a charge of child endangerment -- she's guilty of criminally negligent homicide, too!

rocktivity

[NYC_SKP]

2. Good. It's tragic and criminal, what happened there.

[stillcool]

4. sad... and strange

Sounds like there is more to the story.

[tblue]

5. Oh how sad!!!!

Poor little guy! Who could you trust, really, with a loaded weapon around your children? NOBODY! Ugh.

I used to ask parents if there was a firearm in their house before I'd let my kid go play there. I trust my kid and they may be great parents, but no one can control everything that goes on in every room at every second, and I consider a gun in that situation putting my child in jeopardy. Not worth it. If they're insulted, too freaking bad.

[Wait Wut]

9. If they're insulted...

...there's a problem. I had zero issues with parents calling and asking questions before their kids came over. If a parent was concerned about something in my home, I'd find a solution that we could all be comfortable with. Except for my pets, of course. I would have no problem inviting a parent over so that they could inspect a gun safe, liquor cabinet, etc.

So, yeah...too freakin' bad. I'd probably keep a close eye on the friendship between their kid and mine, as well.

[alcibiades_mystery]

16. People who keep guns in a house with small children have poor judgment

I wouldn't entrust my children to their care even if they had 10 gun safes and let me inspect them. They're bad parents, and stupid. I'd be just as worried about them letting my child wander off as I would their guns. They have poor judgment, and they're gun addicts, or they would know not to allow such nonsense. My children go nowhere near gunner houses, period. Not only because of the guns, but because the parents are dangerous morons.

[HockeyMom]

6. Throw the book at her and prosecute her

What the hell made her ASSUME that the parents of this child wanted a gun toting babysitter? Gunners are INSANE. They think they can bring their guns anywhere they want. Hello? This was a PRIVATE RESIDENCE and the owners and parents had every right to deny her access to THEIR home with her gun. What don't gunners understand about this? Hell, my daughter and son-in-law have told their own father, "Do not bring guns into our home", but a babysitter CAN????

[Beaverhausen]

10. She lives there. Could be the parent's gun

she is apparently a live-in babysitter. Could be lots of blame to go around.

[moriah]

7. What kind of drugs was she on to sleep through a gunshot in the house?

"Ringhardt stated to investigators that she was carrying a handgun on her person in the home that day because she was scared being at home alone," the statement said. "The handgun was a semi-automatic .40 caliber pistol. Ringhardt left the handgun on a coffee table in the living room and went to the bedroom to take a nap. When she was awakened from her nap, she noticed she didn't see John around the house. She began looking until she found him deceased in the living room with the fatal gunshot wound."

Dafuq?

[LiberalEsto]

8. Good question

I was wondering how she managed to sleep through a gun shot.

[Skittles]

11. lots of weirdness with this story

the father was out of town on business, yet they had no phone?

[SheilaT]

12. Ho-hum.

Just another day for the "responsible" gun owners.

And of course if I suggest that maybe people don't really need guns, all the gun apologists crawl out of the woodwork and start screaming about how the NEED a gun because they just don't feel safe where they live, and these incidents are incredibly rare.

I still think confiscating guns is a sensible idea.

I'm sort of sorry the kid didn't shoot the idiot babysitter who left the gun out where the kid could reach it. However, if that's what the story had been, my first three paragraphs would have been exactly the same, because there are too many guns and too many of the gun owners are truly irresponsible.

[Happyhippychick]

13. Who takes a nap and leaves two babies alone? This story stinks to high heaven.

[rocktivity]

21. Her story stinks worse than a decomposing skunk.

Last edited Tue Oct 29, 2013, 05:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Maybe her nap was actually a drug-induced stupor -- that would explain why she forgot about the gun and "slept through" the sound of the shot. Maybe she felt safe taking a nap because someone was with her who was to supposed to watch the children. Maybe she had the gun out because she needed protection from a stranger was coming over to make an illegal transaction. Maybe -- but at least those make sense.

But if that's her story and she's sticking to it, she should be charged with two counts of child endangerment for leaving the children unsupervised, and with criminally negligent homicide for leaving the gun unsupervised.


rocktivity

[rocktivity]

23. It stinks of marijauna, apparently.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014629415#post22


rocktivity

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

14. Hey, was this the missing AR-15...

...from the NC Republican congresswoman's garage?

[truthisfreedom]

19. Remember everybody, to a child, a gun may look like a fascinating toy

Even though an adult may fear them completely. Anyone carrying a handgun around should be required to take reminder courses on gun safety, probably on a yearly basis to update their permit.