WICHITA, KS. - A 24-year-old Wichita mother, Dekilah Sellers, is facing formal charges after an investigation revealed that she left her three children home alone just days before Christmas. This week, a Sedgwick County District Court Judge set Sellers' bond at $25,000 for the three counts of aggravated child endangering.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of Dec. 21 in the 4400 block of East Bayley in southeast Wichita. When police officers arrived to respond to a domestic violence call, they noticed a 4-year-old boy crying on the porch. They believed he was locked out of his home. The officers opened the door and were met with a large amount of smoke inside.
Shortly afterward, officers located two other children inside: a 2-year-old boy sitting on the couch in the living room and a 3-month-old baby in the back bedroom. Fire and EMS personnel at the scene noted that had it not been for their older brother's help and fast response from police officers, both children would've died from smoke inhalation.
Further investigation revealed that Sellers had left her three children unsupervised. At the same time, she went shopping for Christmas presents – leaving all three vulnerable to potential danger if no one had been alerted as quickly as they were.
Fortunately, all three children are safe with no serious injuries. However, a family member has since taken custody of them until further arrangements can be made due to Sellers' current legal situation.Â
It remains unclear what punishment or sanctions Sellers may face if convicted for these charges against her. Still, this could have ended up being an incredibly tragic holiday for her family members and those involved in saving these innocent lives from harm's way.
Even though the mom had good intentions when she left her kids at home while shopping for them during Christmas, it resulted in unsafe conditions for her children. The authorities got involved in December 2020, and the mom got charged with a crime.
When you leave kids alone, they can do things that are not safe. This is a problem because it could hurt them or someone else. It is the law to ensure kids are supervised, so they do not get hurt.
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