Texas Woman Charged – Kids Abandoned While She Was on Cruise

Harris County Texas Deputies have arrested a West Houston mom after it was alleged the mother left her two children, ages eight and six, at home alone while she traveled out of the country on a cruise. The official charge was listed as abandoning a child with intent to return but no matter what you call it, the woman's alleged actions have many of her neighbors up in arms.

Fortunately for the children it was those neighbors who wound up blowing the whistle on this poor choice style of parenting. Neighbors in the Memorial area of Houston called authorities to perform a welfare check after the mom, Lakesha Woods Williams, was seen leaving her apartment with luggage and not returning.

That was on April 4, 2024, when Woods was observed leaving her high-rise apartment home. The following Tuesday acting on a tip from concerned neighbors deputies with the Harris County Sheriff's Department entered the home as part of a wellness and welfare request.

What deputies found in the apartment were the two children living in an unkempt apartment. According to reports the apartment smelled of urine and there were food boxes and trash strewn about the apartment. There was a cell phone and a web camera that was set up in the home for the "mother to check on the kids" while she was on her trip.

You're probably wondering what the legal age is in Texas that kids can be left home alone, aren't you? Texas doesn't have a law that states what age a child is old enough to be left alone. Instead, the law demands adequate adult supervision who is accountable for the well-being of the children.

A brief medical examination of the children found them to be in good health. The kids were released to a family member. The mother, who returned to the Houston area on Wednesday night reportedly gave officers false information about her identity and possible other misinformation concerning her whereabouts and the safety of her children. As of Thursday evening, Williams had been brought to the Harris County Jail for processing.