In re N.P. CA3
Opinion
Opinion
Hull, J.
FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS
The precipitating incident for this case happened on October 6, 2020, when police responded to a report of a hit-and-run at a motel, where staff saw mother driving in the parking lot, then walking into a motel room with a young child. Officers found father and mother in the room, intoxicated, and minors A.P. and N.P., who were then 23 months old and nine months old, respectively. N.P. was unbuckled in a car seat in the bathroom next to a bathtub that had standing water in it. The police arrested father.
In interviews shortly thereafter, mother stated that father was the father to both A.P. and N.P., although A.P. had a different biological father. Both mother and father stated father was present at N.P.’s birth and signed the birth certificate. Father explained they had placed N.P. in the bathroom because it was quieter. Both mother and father acknowledged they had been drunk, and father explained they both had problems with alcohol. Father was on probation for a criminal threats conviction that had resulted from an incident where he threatened to kill mother. He acknowledged a history of domestic violence with mother.