Florida teen mom allegedly endangers her crying 2-year-old so she can watch 'Smurfs' movie in peace

An 18-year-old Florida mother took her younger siblings and her 2-year-old daughter to see the "Smurfs" movie at Regal Cinema 90 in Lake City last Saturday, WFOX-TV said.

During the movie, the daughter kept crying, so the mother took her into the lobby a few times to get her to calm down — and finally took her to their car, the station said.

'It's horrible.'

Lake City Police said the mother, Tipora Merriex, put her child inside the vehicle — locked and unattended — and returned to the movie theater.

A theater employee allegedly told investigators that Merriex appeared "very annoyed with her daughter's crying," Law & Crime reported.

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Image source: Lake City (Fla.) Police Department

According to WFOX — which said it accessed a police report in connection with the incident — Merriex indicated that she closed the passenger side door and was going to the driver's side when she realized she locked herself out of the car.

However, the station added that a witness said Merriex "closed the door and went back inside the movie theater several times, leaving her child alone in the heat."

Police said officers responded to the theater just before 6 p.m. over reports of a child locked in a vehicle and found the 2-year-old "visibly distressed inside" the car. Police added that the outside temperature was 94 degrees with a 107-degree heat index at the time.

Police said they broke the driver's side window and removed the child, who "appeared flushed" and was "sweating and crying." Police said the child was taken to a medical facility for treatment.

Merriex was arrested and taken to the Columbia County Detention Center, police said.

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Law & Crime said it obtained Merriex's arrest report and noted that it outlines her "very nonchalant demeanor as her child was in the locked vehicle." The arrest report said Merriex periodically exited the "Smurfs" movie showing to go outside and check on the victim, Law & Crime noted, before allegedly having her siblings perform the task.

According to jail records, Merriex was charged with felony child neglect, her bail was set at $50,000, and she was released Tuesday.

"I raise kids, and I never leave my kids in a car for more than a minute," Lake City resident Debbie Spencer told WFOX in the wake of the incident. "It's horrible."

Spencer also told the station, "I can't believe people do stuff like that. Yeah, it's bad."

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