ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A 3-year-old girl from America's northernmost community died and her younger sister suffered hypothermia after their mother and the mother's boyfriend left them in a locked bedroom with a window open to a temperature of minus 30 degrees to air out the room because the girls wet their beds, authorities said.
The mother, 28-year-old elementary teacher Esther G. Edwards-Gust, was apparently on the lam Saturday, a day after she and 29-year-old Richard Tilden Jr. were indicted in the child's death. Tilden was in custody.
The couple shared a home with Edwards-Gust's 1- and 3-year-old daughters in the Inupiat Eskimo community of Barrow.
Police say the two girls last month were trapped overnight in their bedroom with a window open to temperatures that dropped to 30 degrees below zero. Both children were diagnosed with extreme hypothermia and flown to an Anchorage hospital, where the 3-year-old died.
It's hard to feel sorry for either of the parents, who should never be allowed to be near a child again. The complete lack of understanding for what is normal for children that age is scary, but nobody could possibly explain how leaving children exposed to below-zero temperatures sounded like a good idea at the time. No amount of alcohol can account for that.
Excuse me, I'm going to go hug my nieces and nephews now, and be glad they were born to our family instead of people like this.
Still think we should force everyone to risk pregnancy?
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