A 2-year-old child was found barely conscious and strapped into a car seat as smoke filled a Glendale home the night of Aug. 1, according to court records.
It was a 7-year-old child inside the home who
contacted the children’s father, who then reported the situation to police, according to arrest documents.
Officers entered the home near Cactus Road and 67th Avenue about 11 p.m. They found the 2-year-old sleeping and the children’s mother, 26-year-old Kallien Mia Heathman, unconscious near a couch, according to documents and Glendale Police Department spokesperson Jose Santiago.
Officers carried the child outside, then returned for Heathman. She regained consciousness but became uncooperative, and officers dragged her from the smoke-filled home, according to documents.
Heathman and the younger child were taken to a hospital for evaluation but were treated and released, according to Santiago. The father arrived at the home and took custody of the older child, documents said.
Police traced the smoke to a pizza that had burned in a microwave.
Officers also found an empty liquor bottle and other empty alcohol containers in the trash. Hospital testing showed Heathman had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.379, according to documents.
Police arrested Heathman on suspicion of child abuse or neglect, a Class 4 felony. Investigators said she was the only adult in the home and was too intoxicated to care for the two children as smoke filled the house, documents said. Heathman declined to give police a statement.
A judge set a $10,000 cash-only bond. If released, Heathman would be placed on house arrest with electronic and alcohol monitoring and prohibited from contacting minors.
She was scheduled back in court on Aug. 7 and Aug. 11.
Rey Covarrubias Jr. is a reporter for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@azcentral.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 7-year-old's call for help saves toddler from smoky home, police say
