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In a distressing incident in Charleston, West Virginia, Laura Southworth, aged 54, faces severe charges of child neglect resulting in injury, child neglect creating risk of injury, and unlawful restraint. The troubling situation unfolded when police responded to a call on Bridge Road, reporting a young girl with handcuffs on her wrist seeking refuge at a neighbor’s home.
According to documents obtained by Law&Crime, officers arrived to find the child in handcuffs, with one still fastened on her wrist. The girl revealed that her mother, later identified as Laura Southworth, had handcuffed her for alleged theft from her brothers. Despite managing to free one wrist from the handcuffs, she remained trapped due to the other restraint.
Further investigations led a detective to Southworth's residence, where a disheveled environment was noted, cluttered with items strewn across the floor. Southworth reportedly confessed to handcuffing her daughter between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. the previous day, justifying her actions as a response to the girl's disruptive behavior, including food theft and attempted unauthorized departures.
Police described the handcuff as being extremely tight on the child's wrist and eventually succeeded in removing it. Southworth was subsequently apprehended and is currently held on a $10,000 bail pending legal proceedings. The gravity of the charges underscores the distressing nature of the incident, highlighting the importance of safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable individuals.
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