Mother returns to home where 3 children were left without food and electricity for days — only to collect her own clothes and leave '$3,' cops say

Heather Wizbicki (Pasco County Jail).

A Florida woman allegedly left her three children alone for days in a home without electricity or running water — and only $3 for food.

Heather Wizbicki, 35, is charged with three counts of child neglect.

A probable cause arrest affidavit by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said Wizbicki left the kids, ages 14, 13 and 9, at the apartment on Sept. 21. The electricity in the apartment had already been shut off for days, cops say. She allegedly did not leave any food, water or money. She briefly returned on Sept. 24, but only to "collect clothes for herself," cops wrote.

This time, she left $3 for the kids to buy food, the affidavit stated. The kids also did not have a phone to contact a family member or anyone for help, per police.

"There were multiple days where the children were deprived of food and went hungry," cops wrote.

On Sept. 28, when the children had allegedly been left to fend for themselves for a week, a neighbor discovered them and called police.

Cops described the apartment as "unlivable."

"The residence had feces on the floor, rotten food stored in multiple bags, trash throughout the rooms, no running water, and had a foul smell," investigators wrote. "The smell caused the children to have a hard time breathing, even with all of the windows open."

Wizbicki also allegedly left behind a cat in the home and faces an additional charge of confining an animal without food or water.

Deputies learned that the suspect was already in jail after her arrest during a traffic stop for tinted windows on Sept. 24 at the intersection of 10th Street and Fifth Avenue in Zephyrhills.

More from Law&Crime: Cops found 6 kids who had been left by themselves in 'unlivable' conditions after they saw 1 child in the street: Police

A police dog allegedly alerted cops to drugs in the car. They recovered fentanyl, according to police.

She was taken to the Pasco County Jail, where she remains without bond. Her next court date was not listed.

The Department of Children and Families was alerted and also is investigating. It's unclear what happened to the kids. Wizbicki is not allowed to have contact with them, her bond conditions say.