Shanesha Taylor, the Phoenix mother who left her two young children alone in her car when she attended a job interview in Scottsdale, was granted custody of her children following a hearing Thursday morning in a Maricopa County courtroom. “We had an excellent hearing,” said Benjamin Taylor, Shanesha Taylor’s attorney. “The judge will return the children to Ms. Taylor.”
Child Protective Services asked Judge Bradley Astrowski that the hearing be closed to the public because juveniles were involved. Taylor said Astrowski’s ruling was an enormous relief.
“I finally breathed,” Taylor said after the 20-minute hearing. “I don’t think I breathed for three days before that.”
Taylor was barred from seeing her children after her her March 20 arrest in Scottsdale and was later granted supervised contact with her children.
Benjamin Taylor said the chances improved for Shanesha Taylor to regain custody of her children after the criminal case was resolved. “She’s been doing everything right,” Benjamin Taylor said. “She’s been doing everything the judge told her to do and she’s a veteran of the United States Air Force.”
Prosecutors last month agreed to dismiss the abuse charges against Taylor if she successfully completes a diversion program.
“I think my progress led to me getting them back,” Taylor said.
Taylor said she was allowed to pick up her children Thursday, and that she planned on seeing them as soon as possible. “I’m sure there will be ice cream involved,” Taylor said.
Police say Taylor, 35, left her children in her Dodge Durango for 45 minutes while in a Farmers Insurance office in Scottsdale. Taylor told police she was jobless, without child care that day and had occasionally been homeless.
Taylor said she is still looking for a job and hopes to work in the service industry. “I like working with people and helping them get what they need,” Taylor said.
Taylor was released from jail March 31 on $9,000 bond. Her children were examined at a hospital the day of her arrest and released as uninjured. They were later placed with family, and under the supervision of the Division of Child and Family Services.
article by Andrew Romanov via azcentral.com