Selfish mother Dominique Knowles left special needs kids at home for days on end to fly to Florida for liposuction
A selfish Ohio mother faces jail time for leaving her twin daughters with special needs to care for her 10-year-old while she flew to Florida for her friend’s liposuction surgery.
Dominique Knowles, 32, is accused of leaving her three children home alone without a phone while she was away for nearly three days.
Police say Knowles used a laptop to check in via FaceTime, while occasionally monitoring their activities through security cameras. One night they ate food ordered through Uber Eats that was left outside.
Prosecutor Michael Maloney says the mother’s young girls made it clear she “wasn’t actually checking in” while traveling with a friend.
“Remote work is one thing, remote mothering is another,” he said.
Domonique Knowles was arrested for child endangerment after leaving her 10-year-old in charge of twin sisters with special needs for nearly three days
Officers responded to the welfare check and found the girls alone in the ‘filthy’ apartment where liquid had been spilled all over the floor
Knowles was found guilty of child endangerment earlier this month. She told officers on body camera footage, “My kids are allowed to be here alone.”
“Not when you have two children with special needs,” the arresting officer responded.
Her 10-year-old daughter was left in charge of her two 7-year-old twin sisters who have special needs, while Knowles took her 8-month-old son on the trip.
It was the 10-year-old’s teacher who asked police to conduct a welfare check on the children after a disturbing conversation with the child.
During a phone call to the police, the teacher said: ‘[The 10-year-old] told her teacher that she talked to mom on camera last night and that mom ordered Uber Eats for them and left it at the door.”
Officers found the apartment filthy and had liquid flowing all over the floor. While reporting the situation, one of the twin girls slipped and fell.
The 10-year-old’s teacher called for a welfare check on the children after a conversation with the student revealed that the mother was out of town
Maloney said Knowles never told the children’s grandmother that she would abandon the children and leave the state.
He told it Cleveland19: ‘It was even worse. Mother lied to her mother. There were adults available to help.”
Knowles also initially denied leaving the state until police proved she had spent two nights in Miami.
“She lied,” Maloney said. “The detective quickly figured it out, they showed her leaving Hopkins airport on the night in question, [and] I timed the calls to my mother at an airport in Miami in about two hours.”
Maloney pointed out that the time frame is approximately the time it takes to fly from Cleveland to Miami.
Prosecutor Michael Maloney revealed that Knowles’ mother was available to care for the children, but Knowles lied to her and did not tell her she was leaving the children alone.
“When mom was confronted, she changed her story and said she had to be in Miami because her friend needed liposuction surgery,” he added.
Maloney also explained that the patio door was unlocked when officers arrived. He said: “Every teacher and counselor at the school said there is no doubt these girls would have strayed if given the chance.
He added: ‘I don’t want to explain what could have happened then, a kidnapping, running away behind a car.’
Knowles will be sentenced on Wednesday and faces up to six months in prison.