Kids found alone in locked apartment; mom arrested

KENNETH CITY — Diana Jean Wimmer swore that she had only been away from her two kids for 10 or 15 minutes.

But Kenneth City police officers said they stood outside her locked apartment for 30 minutes while her young children wailed inside. Neighbors said the 3-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy had already been screaming for an hour before they called police.

Wimmer (left), 24, of 4000 58th St. N, was arrested early this morning on a felony charge of child neglect. She bonded out of the Pinellas County jail just before noon.

The mother told police she had been gone just a little while, hanging out downstairs in another apartment with the father. But police, who were called around 12:30 a.m., say it was more like 90 minutes.

“The baby was crying nonstop and couldn’t be calmed down,” said Sgt. Kevin Matson. “The little girl saw the uniform, calmed down and opened the door.”

The children were unharmed and left in the care of their father, who is also now under investigation, according to police.

Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer

Photo: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office

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