A Missouri couple, Jeremy and Jessica Lamp, 36 and 31, respectively, are accused of abandoning their son at a Chillicothe courthouse. Allegedly, Jesicca tested positive for methamphetamine, so they decided to abandon the child as “they were gonna take him anyway.”
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According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law & Crime, the incident occurred at around 10:05 a.m. on July 15. A Chillicothe Police Department officer responded to the Livingston County Courthouse located on Webster Street.
Upon arrival, the officer was met by a Children’s Division investigator. The officer learned Jeremy and Jessica Lamp had arrived at the courthouse for a drug screening. The married couple had arrived at the building with their young son.
While Jeremy’s drug test came back clear, Jessica’s test came back positive for methamphetamine, as per the affidavit. Then, the investigator told the Lamps that she wanted to come up with a safety plan for their son.
However, according to the affidavit, Jeremy denied the safety plan options. These included having Jessica outside of the house, having both of them outside of the house, or having their son stay with a relative. Subsequently, after they denied the safety plan options, Jeremy allegedly attempted to push his son’s car seat toward the investigator.
Abandoned Child, Parents Arrested
Moments later, despite the investigator’s warnings, both Jeremy and Jessica Lamp left the courthouse, allegedly leaving their son inside. Moreover, no clothes, food, or other infant care items were left by the Lamps, as per the document.
An hour after being requested at the scene, CPD officers located and arrested Jeremy and Jessica Lamp. In a post-Miranda interview, Jeremy explained that, after his wife’s test result came back positive, he found all safety plan options were not viable, according to the affidavit.
After the investigator told Jeremy that they would take their son, he allegedly made the decision to leave him at the courthouse. When police questioned him about it, Jeremy allegedly said, “The way I looked at it was that they were gonna take him anyway.”
As per Law & Crime, Jeremy and Jessica Lamp were charged with child neglect.