Trial date could be set next week for Hannibal woman charged with leaving child in ‘uninhabitable’ home

WARNING: This story includes a description of the living conditions of a home that may be considered abhorrent, disgusting or offensive to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

HANNIBAL, Mo. — A status conference and trial setting for a Hannibal woman who left a child unattended in a house deemed “uninhabitable” by Hannibal police officers is set for next week in Marion County Circuit Court in front of a new judge.

Leranie M. Norris, 29, will appear in court on Dec. 6 with public defender Christopher Terrell before Judge John Jackson. The case originally had been assigned to Judge Rachel Bringer-Shepherd, who is retiring at the end of the year. She assigned the case to Jackson on Nov. 1.

Norris was charged by Marion County Prosecuting Attorney Luke Bryant on June 25 with:

• One count of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, a Class D felony, for leaving a child less than 17 years of age in squalor and unsanitary conditions. 
• One count of endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, a Class D felony, for creating a substantial risk to the health of a child less than 17 years of age by locking the child in a room for an extended period with only rancid food for nutrition.
• One count of abuse or neglect of a child less than 18 years of age, for whom Norris was responsible for the care, custody and control of, by leaving the child in a locked room for an extended period while the child had a knife. Norris knowingly caused the child to be in a situation in which physical injury could have been suffered.

Norris could be sentenced to one to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections or one year in the county jail on each count if found guilty by a jury.

A probable cause statement filed by Det. Jordan Freiling with the Hannibal Police Department on May 29 said HPD officers responded to a well-being check at a residence in the 1200 block of Broadway on May 29. 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.  

Freiling’s report said Norris was placed under arrest when she arrived. Upon being handcuffed, Norris asked to say “one last thing to her daughter” and then said, “We could never understand because she is a struggling single mother.” During the booking process, Norris cried for a moment when asked for the child’s name. Otherwise, she showed no emotion and did not ask if the child was OK.

A search warrant was executed on the apartment. Trash and filth were piled from the entryway and up the stairs to the apartment. The apartment had no walking surface due to the trash and filth. Similar conditions were discovered in the child’s room and Norris’ bedroom. There were dead mice in Norris’ room in a drinking cup. The bathroom of the home was not functional, with the toilet clogged to the brim with feces, the sink being full of feces, large piles of feces-covered toilet paper in various places and more feces on top of the piles.

The kitchen was unusable, with trash and discarded food containers piled up, a glue trap under the sink full of dead rodents, empty alcohol bottles and no edible food in the residence.

Norris was arraigned June 24 and released on her own recognizance.