Mother Allegedly Lied to Police About an Intruder Harming Her Son After She Left Him Home Alone

A Texas woman was arrested for allegedly lying to the police about an intruder abusing her son with autism.

Darnisha Lumpkin was arrested and charged with injury to a child and making a false report to a peace officer, according to KWTX, which obtained an affidavit in the case.

On July 27, Waco Police responded to a call of an assault. Lumpkin told the responding officer that she left her residence to get the mail and was gone for approximately ten minutes. In that time, she claimed an unknown man entered the home, struck her son on the back, arms and face with either a belt or a charging cable. She said the unknown man took selfies on the child’s iPad and then broke it.  Lumpkin also alleged the intruder bit her son. However, the affidavit reportedly states officers observed the marks on the child, but saw no bite marks.

Despite that, Lumpkin maintained her story in written and verbal statements. A detective was assigned to the case and reviewed security footage of the apartment complex. Quickly, investigators realized Lumpkin did not leave her apartment when she said she did to check the mail.

The outlet reports that detectives got permission on August 6 to search the broken iPad. The police department’s forensic lab found no selfies from an unknown intruder. What they did find was evidence that either Lumpkin or her son had a doctor’s appointment that day. Messages were deleted from the iPad but later recovered, in which Lumpkin talked about getting a ride to the appointment.

Days later, police interviewed the child, who has autism, who said he’d been left home alone in the house in the past and that his mother had hit him with a belt before. This prompted detectives to do a consensual interview with Lumpkin, who, at first, maintained her intruder story. However, when confronted with the evidence, she reportedly eventually admitted that she went to the doctor that day while her son was throwing a tantrum. So, she left him alone.

The outlet reports that detectives believe she attempted to destroy evidence of that appointment by deleting the messages and breaking the iPad. She was booked into McLennan County Jail, but has since bonded out.