Vero Beach - Wednesday July 6, 2022: The parents of two baby children left alone in a hotel room have been arrested after Indian River County Sheriff Deputies found them playing games at a nearby arcade. One child is 18 months old, the other is just 3 months of age.
Last Saturday, July 2, a member of the cleaning staff at the Vero Beach Inn and Suites heard the children crying inside one of the rooms. The staff member repeatedly knocked at the door but got no answer. The housekeeper assumed an adult was in the room tending to the children.
Ten minutes later, the housekeeper returned and could still hear the children crying. The staff member entered the room and found the 3-month-old covered in pillows and the 18-month old child lying on the bed, close to the edge, and not wearing clothes. The Sheriff's Office was called.
According to the affidavit of arrest, Deputies "located the parents" playing games at the Venetian Arcade on 20th Street, just across the street from the Inn.
EMS also responded and medically cleared the children who are now in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
34 year old Martina Shaw and 35 year old Aaron Doby were charged with two counts of felony child neglect. Both are residents of the 1500 block of 15th Circle SW in Vero Beach. As of Wednesday morning they were in the county jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.