PULASKI - Melissa Southern, 22, is behind bars without bond at the New River Valley Regional Jail after her child got a hold of her liquid methadone.
Pulaski Police say the methadone was left out in the open in the kitchen.
Officers say Southern’s three-year-old boy tested positive for the drug at the hospital.
Police went on to say that Southern didn’t get the boy medical help until three hours after she knew he took it.
This is similar to what happened in Pulaski last year when another woman, Lisa Hylton, left liquid methadone out only for her son to get into, and in that case, the son died. Hylton was convicted last week.
In this case, Pulaski Police charged Southern with felony child neglect.
The child was taken to the hospital and released and the police chief says they're just glad they didn't have to charge Southern with something even more serious.
While Southern is in jail, her son is in the custody of Pulaski Dept. of Social Services.
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