A 31-year-old Scappoose woman is facing multiple criminal charges after her two young children were discovered alone inside a burned, powerless rural home, with a 4-year-old girl telling deputies she could not wake her sleeping mother. Both children later tested positive for methamphetamine, according to court documents.
Columbia County prosecutors charged Kari Marie Bennett with multiple crimes stemming from the conditions investigators say her children were living in, according to KMTR. The case began in September, when the Department of Human Services received a tip about unsafe conditions involving Bennett and her two young children, per court documents cited by the station. According to a DHS report described in those documents, the children had not bathed for several weeks, and one child was reportedly born with methamphetamine in their system.
Deputies Find Children Alone in Collapsing Structure
Deputies responded three days after the DHS report was filed, per the same court documents. They found two travel trailers and a separate building near large amounts of garbage, scrap metal, propane tanks, and burnt wood on the rural Scappoose property. The building itself was partially collapsed with exposed rafters that had recently burned, and its front door was covered with a blanket, the report states.
A 2-year-old boy answered the door wearing pajamas and a saggy, wet diaper, according to the court documents described by the station. A 4-year-old girl told deputies her mother was asleep and that she could not wake her, and said she had last eaten noodles the night before. Deputies reportedly observed a large shop heater at the foot of Bennett's bed inside the home, which, per the DHS report, had no electricity, running water, or heat.
No Cell Service Complicated the Response
The property had no cell phone service, so deputies had to drive out to get reception and contact other police and DHS, according to the report. Per the DHS report, Bennett had slept most of the day and failed to supervise her children. Bennett reportedly told deputies she was homeless and was attempting to file a restraining order against a boyfriend she described as psychotic.
Bennett ultimately agreed to leave with her children and move in with her father, who has an apartment in Saint Helens, the court documents state. The children were taken to Randall Children's Hospital, where, according to court documents dated September 30, both children tested positive for methamphetamine. A DHS worker also said one child may have a urinary tract infection.
Charges and What the Law Says
Bennett was arraigned on October 30 on two counts each of first-degree criminal mistreatment, second-degree criminal mistreatment, and second-degree child neglect, according to the court documents. Oregon's statute on first-degree criminal mistreatment, per an excerpt published by the Oregon State Legislature, describes the offense as occurring when a person who has a legal duty to provide care, or who has assumed responsibility for another person's supervision, intentionally or knowingly withholds necessary and adequate food, physical care, or medical attention from that person.
Bennett has a prior conviction for methamphetamine possession from 2014, for which court records show she was sentenced to 10 days in jail and 18 months of probation. She was released from jail this time with conditions, including that she have no contact with her children unless supervised by the state, and that she stay away from drugs and alcohol. Bennett is due back in court on November 23.
