LONDON, KY. – A mother and daughter were arrested after deputies from the Laurel County Sheriff’s office pulled them over and found a 2 week old baby lying on the floor of the filthy vehicle.
On Thursday, August 15, 2019, at around 7:30 p.m. deputies attempted to pull a green Chrysler Town and Country over. The vehicle did not immediately stop, it continued on for around ¼ mile before stopping in the driveway of a home off of Old Richmond Road near the City of London. Deputies made contact with the occupants and learned that they both had outstanding bench warrants. Both women, Rebeca Jean Fultz, 32, of Livingston, and her mother, Charolette Simpson, 69, of London.
During the arrest Fultz refused to get out of the car and deputies had to remove her. One of the occupants pointed out that there was a baby still inside the vehicle. There was no child safety seat in the vehicle, so deputies had a difficult time locating the baby. The two week old baby was found on the floorboard between the two front seats with his head facing toward the center console. The infant had labored breathing, and ants were crawling on his. He had a soiled diaper and the vehicle did not have air conditioning.
Trash and debris were scattered all over the interior of the vehicle. An ambulance was called to the scene to transport the newborn to the hospital for treatment. The baby was transported to St. Joseph Hospital in London, while the paramedics worked with the infant on the way to the hospital.
Rebeca Jean Fultz, the mother of the newborn, was arrested for criminal abuse, resisting arrest; menacing. She was also charged on the bench warrant for failure to use child restraint device in vehicle; failure of owner to maintain required insurance – first offense; failure to produce insurance card.
Charolotte Simpson, the newborn’s grandmother and Rebeca’s mother, was arrested for criminal abuse, In addition, the subject was charged regarding the traffic stop and charged with operating on suspended or revoked operator’s license; failure to wear seatbelts; failure of nonowner operator to maintain required insurance – first offense; no registration plates; no registration receipt. In addition, this individual was charged on a Rockcastle District Court bench warrant of arrest charging failure to appear in court on charges of operating on suspended or revoked operator’s license.
Both Simpson and Fultz were booked at the Laurel County Correctional Center. The infant was treated for dehydration and later released to Child and Family Services.
