Mother Tries To Convince Police She Left Kids Because Of Medical Issue
DENVER (CBS4) - A Thornton mother is trying to convince police that a medical condition is the reason she left her two young children alone for hours and that she is a good parent.
Sarah Hatfield told CBS4 that she was hoping to be able to go home Wednesday evening. She has been meeting with Thornton police and Social Services to see if that will be allowed.
Hatfield, 25, left her children in her parked car at a Thornton gas station Saturday morning. Ten hours later and 13 miles away Hatfield says she found herself wandering confused at East Colfax Avenue and Colorado Boulevard where she was arrested.
Hatfield said doctors suspect she had an episode of amnesia tied to her migraine headaches. Doctors at Denver Health Medical Center, where she was examined, say it is indeed a real condition that can cause unusual behavior and memory loss. Hatfield said it's the only thing that could explain why she left her children, her keys, her wallet and her cellphone in the car and disappeared.
The picture Hatfield's family and husband describe is one of a smitten mother who adores her two little boys.
"They are the best, they are the world. So they are 2 and 4; they are a joy," Hatfield said.
After 2 days in the hospital and a night in jail, Hatfield seems exhausted and horrified that she left her children, but she said she remembers nothing.
"It was scary. Everything was scary at first. I didn't know what was going on," Hatfield said. "I remember going to the gas station, and I pulled into the gas station and waited in line to get gas, and that was it. That was the last thing I remember that day."
She doesn't know how she got to Colfax and Colorado.
"I remember it being dark and walking down the street," she said.
Hatfield's husband, Matt, said they are sure police will work with doctors to realize that it is a medical, not a criminal case.
"She doesn't have a criminal history," Matt Hatfield said. "She's a loving mother."
"The research says it's a one-time thing for most people. It says it's like a 6 percent chance of it happening again," Hatfield said.
Hatfield talked with her 4-year-old son by phone and he had a message for her.
"I just let him know I loved them and that I missed them. Jamie, all he would say is that I lost him. It's, 'Mommy, you lost me,' that's all he would say," she said.
