ANCHORAGE - A 3-year-old girl from America’s northernmost community died and her younger sister suffered hypothermia after their mother and the mother’s boyfriend left them in a locked bedroom with a window open to a temperature of minus-30 degrees to air out the room because the girls wet their beds, authorities said.
The mother, 28-year-old elementary teacher Esther G. Edwards-Gust, apparently fled Saturday, a day after she and 29-year-old Richard Tilden Jr. were indicted in the child’s death. Tilden was in custody.
They shared a home with Edwards-Gust’s 1- and 3-year-old daughters in the Inupiat Eskimo community of Barrow.
Police say the two girls were trapped overnight last month in their bedroom with a window open as temperatures fell to 30 degrees below zero. Both girls had extreme hypothermia and went to an Anchorage hospital, where the 3-year-old died.
Tilden later told authorities he had been drinking the night before and opened the bedroom window to air out the room because the girls wet their beds, according to court data. He also said the door’s latch was broken, making it impossible for anyone inside the room to open it.
A grand jury indicted Tilden and Edwards-Gust on charges including manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. Tilden faces second-degree murder and assault charges. He was arrested last month.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Edwards-Gust.
Tilden called 911 when he found the 3-year-old was unresponsive Feb. 2.