Background: The area of Alexandria Drive in Reedsville, W.Va. (Google Maps). Inset: Danielle Lee Murray (Tygart Valley Regional Jail).
A woman in West Virginia is accused of leaving her 5-year-old son next to a busy road so she could try to steal a vehicle from right under the owner's nose.
Danielle Lee Murray, 37, is in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $25,000 bond.
She has been charged with child neglect, regional NBC and ABC affiliate WBOY reported.
The case unfolded on June 4, when someone in the area of Alexandria Drive in Reedsville, West Virginia, apparently noticed someone trying to steal their vehicle. Reedsville is a small town in Preston County, which is located in the north of the state.
The vehicle owner called law enforcement and said a woman — alleged to be Murray — got into their car "and tried to steal it."
The caller noted that the suspect was a "female [who] seems a 'bit off'," according to a criminal complaint obtained by the local TV station. Furthermore, the woman was "unsteady" and unable to stand upright.
Troopers with the West Virginia State Police responded to the area and noticed Murray walking about a mile away toward a gas station. They apparently already identified her as their suspect, because they asked her if she was indeed Murray, and though she said "no," they identified that she was.
In the time that Murray allegedly tried to steal the car and then walked toward the gas station, she left a young child who was in her care "outside with no one supervising" at an apartment complex with a "heavy traffic of cars," law enforcement said. One neighbor said the boy was "freaking out looking for" his mother, per the complaint.
The child was 5 years old and had autism, area CBS affiliate WDTV reported.
Another family member of the boy took custody of him, authorities noted. Murray was arrested and booked into jail.