A West Virginia granny has been charged after allegedly handcuffing her granddaughter, who escaped the home and sought help from a neighbour.
Laura Southworth, 54, faces charges of child neglect and unlawful restraint, according to a criminal complaint, people.com reported.
Police officers in Charleston responded to the neighbour’s home at about 9 a.m. on Monday “in reference to a neighbour’s child showing up at their house saying she was abused and that she had a handcuff on her arm,” the complaint said.
The child “was able to slip the handcuff off her right wrist but was unable to slip the one off her left wrist,” the complaint said.
The accused allegedly admitted to handcuffing the child the previous night for allegedly stealing food and “trying to leave the house without permission,” the complaint said.
“This means (the victim) was handcuffed for approximately 13 hours and it should be noted that the handcuff that was on her wrist, was very tight, and eventually officers were able to remove the handcuff,” the complaint said.
Also per the complaint, cops described the house as “extremely messy with multiple items covering the floor throughout the house.”
A preliminary hearing for Southworth is set for Oct. 2. As of Friday, she had not entered a plea.
Her attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.