Woman Locks Kids In Trunk While Shopping At Walmart

A Utah woman was arrested and accused of child abuse after she reportedly locked her two small children in the trunk of her car while shopping in a Riverdale Walmart. 

Charity Maw told KTVX that she was in the parking lot of the store around 6 p.m. when she heard the children pounding on the trunk of the car from inside.

“I was shocked, I was shaken, and I was mad,” Maw said. “The little girl’s voice. Just screaming: ‘Let me out! I’m scared.'”

The children’s mother, 39-year-old Tori Castillo, allegedly put her 2- and 5-year-old kids into the trunk of her Chevrolet sedan before walking inside the Walmart. 

“It’s never right to lock a child inside of a vehicle, let alone a trunk of a vehicle. Obviously there’s a lot of things that could go wrong,” Riverdale Police Lt. Casey Warren said. 

Maw said that another witness who heard the kids screaming helped the children get out by instructing them on how to open the trunk from the inside using a latch.

“And there’s two kids there, tears coming down their face. Bawling. They were scared,” Maw said.

Castillo was arrested and the children were released to their father. Utah’s Department of Child and Family Services subsequently launched an investigation into the incident.

“Please.. please take those poor babies away and beat that woman to a pulp and put her in the trunk. Those poor children have been abused enough.. we should be allowed to just take things into our own hands as civilians when it comes to the abuse of children. These people deserve to feel the same fear and torment they put on those innocent defenseless children,” one Conservative Daily reader commented on the site’s Facebook page in response to the story.

“Why didn’t she take them into the store with her? Hold the baby. Hold the five year old’s hand. Cross the parking lot. They have carts to shop with your children. I dunno. Either she felt inconvenienced (because she’s a jerk), or she was that overwhelmed (being by herself and greatly lacked common sense) or she was too worried about shoplifting (hence the other charge). Regardless, let’s be happy that the kids were rescued,” another added.

“OMG.. I hope she has NO other children.. and this woman’s rights to those 2, should be removed.!!! NEVER to see them again.. !!!!!!!!!! if she did that on a hot day.. to 2 of her children.. can you imagine what she would do to them at home when no one was there to protect them. AT her age.. she knew better. MENTALLY ill?? DRUGS??? DRINKING??? what ever her reasoning to put 2 children in a car trunk.. NO right to see them ever again.!!!!” another wrote. 

Sources: KTVX, Conservative Daily/Facebook / Photo credit: Ben Schumin/Wikimedia Commons