Hannibal woman charged with leaving child in ‘uninhabitable’ home receives five years of probation

HANNIBAL, Mo. — A Hannibal woman who left a child unattended in a house deemed “uninhabitable” by Hannibal police officers has been sentenced to five years of state-supervised probation.

Leranie M. Norris, 29, appeared in Marion County Circuit Court on March 17 with Public Defender Christopher Terrell before Judge John Jackson. She pled guilty to two counts of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, a Class D felony. One count of abuse or neglect of a child less than 18 years of age, a Class D felony, was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

A probable cause statement filed by Det. Jordan Freiling with the Hannibal Police Department on May 29, 2024, said HPD officers responded that day to a well-being check at a residence in the 1200 block of Broadway. A witness reported fluid leaking from an upstairs apartment into a lower business.

When the witness checked on the issue as the building landlord, he found a 5-year-old child screaming in a bedroom with no adults present. The witness reported garbage was everywhere and notified law enforcement.

HPD officers investigated and found the residence was uninhabitable due to the amount of garbage, insects, piled items and general filth. The child was in the northern-most bedroom of the residence, which contained a very soiled mattress on the floor, garbage piled to the point there was no walking path and various food containers, which all appeared unsanitary and out of date — though several of the containers were “licked clean.”

A steak knife was found on the mattress where the child was found. Brown smears on the walls, believed to be feces, were observed. Mouse droppings and insect activity were seen on the mattress. The victim did not appear to have been bathed for an extended period, with dirt and various substances on the face and hair. She also had lice upon inspection at a foster home.

The child said her mother, Norris, had left her alone for “like six hours” and appeared scared when Norris arrived on the scene.