Florida Woman Allegedly Left Boy Alone Without Water, Electricity for 9 Days

Autumn Lee Beede in a police photo. (Escambia County Jail)

A Florida woman was arrested this week after police said she left a boy alone at a home for more than a week without food, water, or electricity.

Autumn Lee Beede, 39, is facing child neglect charges after allegedly leaving the boy alone for nine days, officials said, according to the Pensacola News Journal. An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy made a welfare check at the home on Feb. 14 after a witness told officials that the boy had been living by himself without an adult from Feb. 5 to Feb. 14.

A second witness said the boy allegedly asked for water. When the neighbor took bottles of water to the residence, he noticed that it wasn’t suitable for living.

A deputy later stepped into the residence and noted a “heavy odor of fecal matter” inside the house, reported the News Journal. The boy said he was living with a male until Feb. 5 when that person was incarcerated, according to the deputy.

The child then told the deputy that the water and electricity were cut off for about a month because the bills weren’t paid, a police report said. The boy went to friends’ and neighbors’ homes to obtain food and water, said officials.

The report didn’t note the relationship between Beede and the boy. He said that Beede allegedly hasn’t been at the home since Dec. 23, 2019, according to police.

The police report said that Beede apparently left pastries on the front porch on Feb. 14. He found the pastries but noted she didn’t come inside the home.

Beede was released from jail on Sunday after posting $5,000 in bond, WHDH reported, citing jail records.