Ohio mom leaves her young special-needs children home alone to go on Miami vacation — with friend getting liposuction

An Ohio mother was convicted of abandoning her three young children — two of whom have special needs — to go on a Florida vacation to be with her friend who was getting liposuction surgery.

On Feb. 22, a Westlake City Schools special education teacher notified police that one of her students — a 7-year-old girl — informed her that she had been left home alone with her twin sister and her 10-year-old sister. The special education teacher requested a welfare check from police, according to newly released audio.

‘Do you remember why she was in Miami? Her friend needed liposuction surgery.’

On the same day, police conducted a welfare check on the apartment in Westlake – roughly 15 miles west of Cleveland.

Officers said the children were alone and the apartment was in complete “disarray.”

Citing police, WKYC reported that the apartment was “in shambles” and “there was clothing, food, trash, and an unknown liquid covering the floor.” The officer noted there was “furniture stacked up in a corner, storage boxes stacked in another corner, and the apartment itself smelled of old food and body odor.”

“Garbage, bins, and bags were strewn all over the floor,” court records state, according to the Independent.

According to court documents, the children told police they did not have a cellphone to contact their mother but had been communicating with her through Nest cameras located around the unit and FaceTime on a MacBook tablet.

Investigators determined that the mother — Dominique Knowles — had abandoned her children to go on vacation in Miami.

The children’s grandmother purportedly told police Knowles had not left the state, and Knowles allegedly told a detective she was not out of state.

Westlake Law Director Michael Maloney determined that Knowles had traveled to Miami a day before police conducted the welfare check.

Investigators used subpoenaed cellphone records to determine that Knowles made or received 50 calls in the greater Miami area from Feb. 21 to Feb. 23, according to court documents.

During a hearing Wednesday, a prosecutor informed the judge: “Do you remember why she was in Miami? Her friend needed liposuction surgery.”

When arrested, Knowles allegedly told police, “My kids are allowed to be here by themselves.”

The arresting officer allegedly responded, “Not when you have two special-needs kids.”

Knowles told the courtroom Wednesday, “I understand what I did was wrong, and this absolutely would never happen again. I did believe my kids were able to dress themselves and get themselves to school. I wouldn’t dare let anything happen to my kids. I wish I could go back and change the circumstances.”

Despite her plea, Knowles was found guilty of two counts of child endangerment — a first-degree misdemeanor that can be punishable by six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 per count.

However, Knowles was sentenced to five years of probation and 360 days of house arrest, ordered to attend a parenting class and mental health counseling, and given $800 in fines. Knowles will be allowed to leave house arrest to go to work.

Judge Joseph Burke of the Rocky River Municipal Court declared, “Something bad could’ve happened to the children, they could have started a fire in the apartment, they could have hurt themselves or suffered a medical emergency, or they could have been taken by a stranger. But most of all, they needed their mother to be there and parent them and not … by remote cameras from Florida.”

Burke noted, “I don’t want to further victimize your daughters by separating you from them. It is now time for you to become the mother that your daughters deserve, need, and require.”

Blaze News reported in February that an Ohio mother left her 16-month-old daughter alone in a filthy playpen at home for 10 days while she went on vacation in Puerto Rico.

Kristel Candelario, 32, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and child endangerment.

In March, Candelario was sentenced to life without parole in what the judge described as the “ultimate act of betrayal.”

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