Young mother left two-year-old alone, with no food or drink

Stephanie Davis, a 21-year-old mother in Cumming, GA was charged with cruelty to children and reckless conduct after she left her two-year-old son alone, trapped inside of his room, with no food or drink, in a home filled with garbage.


Deputies responded to the Davis residence on June 22 after a family member had contacted the Sheriff’s Office about the child. The family member had been in touch with Davis when she called from the Roswell Police Department jail where she had been arrested. Davis told the relative that someone was watching her son. The relative told the Sheriff’s Office that she believed the child was alone at the home.


Deputies found the residence locked and no adult at home. Inside of the home, they could see a dog running from one open window to another, barking. As the deputies worked their way around the house, they could hear the cries of a child coming from inside.
A deputy pulled the screen off a window and entered the home, and found the child trapped in his room by a closed door, equipped with a safety device that prevented the child from opening the door.


“The child was dressed in a dirty white t-shift. He had removed his diaper himself and it was on the floor, filled to overflowing with feces. The child had feces on his hands, feet and legs,” according to Sheriff Ted Paxton. The deputy also found what appeared to be bug bites, possibly from fleas, on the legs of the child.


The home was described by deputies on the scene as “filthy. The odor emanating from the inside of the house was a mixture of rotting food, urine and feces.”


Two rooms, one being the room where the child was found, had only a mattress and box springs on the floor. Clothing was thrown on the floors of the bedrooms, bathroom and sofa. Towels and used razors were found on the floor outside of the shower, as well as overflowing trash. In the kitchen, deputies found dirty dishes, rotting food and trash. Outside of the home, on the porch, were over 50 bags filled with garbage. In addition, panes were broken out of some of the windows, including the room where the child was found.


Also inside of the home were two dogs that were taken out of the home by deputies and given water. Both dogs were later transported by Animal Control from the residence after no one could be found to care for them.


The Department of Family and Children’s Services (DEFACS) was contacted and has placed the child in protective custody. The mother remains incarcerated at the Fulton County Jail.