Mother leaves twin toddlers home alone to party, police say

Kiria Ferris, 29, was arrested and charged with two counts of child neglect after neighbors said they saw her unsupervised 2-year-old sons playing in the rain near a lake.

Neighbors Rita Charles and Carlin Rogers recognized the children and visited Ferris’ apartment to see if she was home, according to an arrest affidavit.

The front door was open, but a large piece of plywood and two children’s bicycles were blocking the doorway, Charles told police. Each of the apartment’s three bedroom doors was locked, she said.

Investigators said Ferris told them that she was on her way home from work, but she later said she left the children at the apartment while she went to Margarita Fest with friends.

“I would never leave my niece to go to Wall Street. That's ridiculous,” neighbor Aleysa Bradle said. “Especially at nighttime, you know? What if something would've happened to those kids?”