Mom Left Baby, 2 Tots Home Alone

RIVER RIDGE, La. (AP) — Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies have booked a River Ridge woman with three counts of child desertion after a deputy determined she had left three children, including a five-month-old baby, home alone. The Times-Picayune reports deputies were summoned this week when a 3-year-old boy left his apartment, knocked on a neighbor's door and reported that his parents weren't home. The resident called authorities. Deputy Jon Norris entered the apartment with the boy and found two more children, ages two and five months, fast asleep -- but no adults. As Norris tried to call the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, the boy's mother, 31-year-old Suzanne Couture, arrived home. Norris says Couture appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol. It was not clear whether Couture has an attorney.

(Information in this story is from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com)