3 days ago
Little boy found abandoned at courthouse after desperate parents pleaded with cops to 'take him away'
A Missouri couple has been arrested after they allegedly abandoned their young son at a courthouse alone and pleaded with cops to 'take him away.'
Jeremy Lamp, 36, and Jessica Lamp, 31, are accused of leaving their infant son behind at the Livingston County Courthouse in Chillicothe.
They allegedly left the young boy with no food, clothes or plan for his care - with police saying they did so 'without remorse and without ensuring proper care.'
They've both been charged with child neglect and are expected to appear in court Monday for a bond hearing.
Cops say the couple showed up to the courthouse the day before for a routine drug screening with a Missouri Department of Social Services investigator, which was part of an ongoing child welfare case.
Jeremy reportedly tested clean but Jessica's mouth swab came back positive for methamphetamine.
This led to a social worker recommending a 'safety plan' to protect the child.
But instead of cooperating, Jeremy allegedly refused all options - including having Jessica stay away from the home, having him and the baby leave the house or even allowing the child to stay with a relative.
'The investigator explained that due to the drug test coming back positive, she couldn't leave the baby with them,' the Chillicothe Police Department stated in the couple's probable cause affidavits.
Officers say the Lamps returned to the courthouse the next day and left their child behind 'without remorse and without ensuring proper care.'
'Jeremy and Jessica then left the courthouse without the child,' police wrote, adding that the boy had been left with no clothes, food or other infant care.
The couple was later found at a nearby medical center, where they were arrested.
Jeremy allegedly admitted to abandoning the child, saying: 'The way I looked at it was that they were gonna take him anyway.'
He also told officers that 'none of the options' the court presented were acceptable, according to his statement.
'Jeremy said that none of the options were viable. He said that Children's Division told him that they would take the child so he left Victim 1 with them,' the probable cause statements read.
'When I questioned him about this he said 'the way I looked at it was that, they were gonna take him anyway.'
Both Jeremy and Jessica have prior criminal convictions, including assault and DWI charges for him and child endangerment for her.
Authorities say the child is now in the custody of Missouri Children's Division.
