A Columbus woman was arrested on two preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent after she was accused of using a bar to barricade a bedroom door shut with her two small children inside.
Columbus police arrested Kylei E. Thompson, 25, 1115 Grand Ave., at her home at about 10 p.m. Saturday after witnesses said they could hear children yelling behind a closed door that had a bar across it, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman.
Witnesses who were in the home fixing a leaking hot water heater said they could not locate Thompson about the children, Harris said.
Officers later spoke with Thompson, who said she locked the children — ages 5 and 1 — in the bedroom so leaking water from the water heater would not hurt them, Harris said.
Officers saw marks on the bedroom door consistent with the bar being placed multiple times on the door to secure it, Harris said. The investigating officers also noted poor living conditions inside the residence with little food in the home, Harris said.
Thompson was taken to the Bartholomew County Jail, where she was later released after posting $15,000 bond, jail officials said.
The children were turned over to the Department of Child Services, Harris said.
