An irresponsible babysitter has been arrested after she allegedly left a two-year-old boy to wander the streets in the bitter cold - nine years after she was taken into custody for her own son's suffocation death.
Arissa Ward, 32, was supposed to be watching the two-year-old boy on Tuesday when he was found in the middle of a road in Pennsylvania without shoes or socks, ABC 27 reported.
It was just 37 degrees Fahrenheit when someone found the toddler in the center of West Main Street in Windsor at around 8am, and he was 'cold to the touch due to the temperature,' according to an affidavit obtained by Law & Crime.
State troopers then canvassed the surrounding area as they searched for anyone who could identify the young boy.
They also notified Children and Youth Services - who told police 'to check on Arissa Ward' who lived in the area and had previously been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for suffocating her own two-month-old son while she was intoxicated back in 2017.
When troopers then approached Ward at her home, she reportedly greeted them by saying: 'I'm babysitting and I just woke up. What's going on?'
At that point, officers asked if she was missing a child.
'Yes, yes, but he is not mine. She dropped him off to me this morning,' Ward responded, referring to the child's mother, according to the affidavit.
Arissa Ward, 32, (pictured in a previous mugshot) has been arrested after she allegedly left a two-year-old boy in her care to wander the streets in the bitter cold
The two-year-old boy was found in the center of West Main Street in Windsor (pictured) at around 8am without shoes or socks on
The responding officers then informed her that the two-year-old boy had been with police for two hours, as they asked 'for an explanation.'
'My kids and I were asleep,' Ward allegedly responded. 'I didn't know he opened up my door.'
The mother-of-two then went on to explain that she was sleeping in her second-floor bedroom with her own two children and her dog when the boy's mother dropped him off at around 6.30am, which the boy's mother later confirmed.
'[The mother] stated the front door was unlocked, which is not common,' according to the affidavit. 'She walked in the residence and took [the boy] upstairs to Ward's bedroom, which the door was open.
'[The mother] stated Ward was asleep and she had to wake her up.'
Eventually, the unidentified mother said Ward woke up and told her son, 'Come here, mom has to go to work,' at which point the boy's mother picked up her son and placed him next to Ward in the bed.
But Ward then immediately fell back to sleep - and had to be jolted awake once more by the mother.
At that point, the mother said she left the residence.
She told police she did not close the bedroom door behind her and was uncertain whether the baby gate was latched behind her either, but she did pull the front door shut as she left.
Ward's arrest comes nine years after she was taken into custody for her own two-month-old son's suffocation death
Ward said she had been drinking and smoking marijuana when she passed out on the couch and rolled on top of her child on December 30, 2016
Hours later, at 9.19am, Ward sent the boy's mother a good morning text, the criminal complaint alleges.
About half an hour later, the mother sent back a frantic text message asking where her son was. She also proceeded to call Ward five times, but she told police each call was sent to voicemail.
Finally, at around 10am, the woman received a call from police saying her child was in police custody after being found outside, and she was asked to pick up her son.
Ward is now facing felony charges of endangering the welfare of children and a misdemeanor charge of recklessly endangering another person.
She has been arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Joel Toluba, who set her unsecured bail at $10,000, which she has posted.
But this is not the first time Ward found herself behind bars.
She previously spent two days in prison after she pleaded no contest in 2018 to charges that were filed against her in the death of her two-month-old son.
She admitted she had been drinking with the boy's father, Arthur Livering (pictured), before they returned home and smoked marijuana that night
Investigators said at the time that Ward had been drinking with Arthur Livering, her boyfriend and the baby's father, before they returned home and smoked marijuana on the night of December 30, 2016.
Ward then laid on the couch with her baby and passed out. She later told police she thought she rolled onto him, according to court records.
An autopsy revealed the baby died from complications of traumatic asphyxia and smothering.
The baby was also found with 0.65 nanograms of THC in his system, then-Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico said at the time.
Ward had been set to serve at least three months behind bars following her no contest plea in the case, but the judge overseeing her case wanted to give her a chance to redeem herself and be free to take care of her surviving daughter, who was three at the time, The Patriot-News reports.
'I'm going to give you the opportunity to do a little bit of penance,' Judge William T. Tully told Ward, warning that she would face more prison time if she didn't stop her drug use.
'This will be a chance to prove yourself,' he warned.
Ward is now due back in court on May 5.