Two nine-year-old twin boys were left all alone after their parents went to Nigeria for four months.
Jerusalem Monday and his family, left for Nigeria with his wife and three of their children back in July. The family was supposed to return in August, but due to illness and passport issues the family was delayed several months.
Giobari Atura had told the boys that he would be stopping by every few days, so he could drop off fresh food and check in on the boys, but when police found out about the situation, there was no sign of any edible food in the apartment.
During that time, the boys would get up and go to school on their own, and eat breakfast and lunch while they were there. A neighbor of the family, Christaly Garcia, said she did not remember ever seeing the children because there were a lot of children in the apartment complex where they live.
Who knows how long the boys were going to go on living alone because the issue was only brought to attention after the boys school reported the situation to Division of Children, Youth and Families.
Atura has been arrested and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, he has been released on bail for 500 dollars and is awaiting trial. The boys were taken into protective custody until their family discovered what happened, and returned home immediately. The parents will not be charged for any crimes.
The boy’s parents told authorities that their uncle was supposed to stay at the apartment the entire time, and if he had to go out they gave him the number of a family friend to get in touch with. The family had no idea because Atura kept saying that everything was going fine.
Photo: AP
