ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 1, 1996 TAG: 9603010095
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A 31-year-old Henry County woman has been charged with felony child neglect in the death of her infant daughter in a house fire last month.
Vivian L. Thomas was visiting her landlord's nearby house to use the telephone when a fire started at her home about 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 8. Thomas had been away for at least 30 minutes, according to the Henry County Sheriff's Office. Her three small children were sleeping alone in a bedroom.
The fire started after a stove left on for several hours at 500 degrees ignited kerosene stored nearby in a plastic container.
Despite her 911 call and her assistance to firefighters to save the children, Thomas' youngest - 6-month-old Keysha Thomas - died of smoke inhalation. The two toddlers, Latasha, 21/2, and Deonte, 11/2, were flown to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., where they were treated for smoke inhalation.
``Obviously, parents can't watch their children 24 hours a day, but the circumstances of this case will show ...'' neglect, said Bob Bushnell, Henry County's commonwealth's attorney.
Asked if 30 minutes was too long to leave children alone, Bushnell said there are no set rules.
``One can imagine where leaving a child alone five minutes or three minutes is too long,'' he said. ``If you have your pet boa constrictor out and your 2-year-old is crawling around the floor, it's probably not the best time to go get the mail.''
Thomas, who was arrested Wednesday morning, remains in the Henry County Jail under a $2,500 bond. She will be tried March 19 in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. If convicted, she faces two to 10 years in prison.
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB