OGDEN, Utah — Ogden police have arrested a couple following neighbors reporting they were behind, "the grossest display of negligence [they] had ever seen from an adult.
Brian Phillip Wight, 36, and Kaylee Aileen Wight, 32, were arrested on Thursday and face charges of abuse or neglect of a child with a disability.
The investigation into the couple began on Wednesday, according to court documents obtained by FOX 13 News. Officers were called to the 1100 block of Rancho Boulevard for a young child, who was later found to be 7 years old, wandering while swinging a hatchet.
The child had also allegedly mentioned wondering, "What would happen if it hit someone?"
Police located the child, who at the time was striking a trailer with the hatchet. When police released the child back to their parents, they said the residence was found in an "abhorrent condition."
The Division of Child and Family Services was contacted to open a case. The mother, Kaylee, reported the child was diagnosed as Autistic, which police say further aggravated the lack of supervision and possession of the dangerous weapon.
The next day, police were once again called to the home after someone reported a theft. The reporting party stated that the 7-year-old had stolen a bike but left the bike in front of his home.
The child returned the bike, and the police took him home to speak to his mother.
During the interaction, police stated that Kaylee seemed indifferent to the concerns and showed a lack of care and motivation to provide care for the child.
At one point, Kaylee and the child went into the home before running out of the house a short time later. Police who witnessed the scene said that Kaylee ran after the child but fell face-first in the grass before yelling something to the effect of "I'm done, you can go to jail. I don't care anymore," before returning inside.
Investigators looked through records on the home and found that in May, they were called after the 7-year-old was found miles away from home riding a scooter. At the time, Kaylee allegedly was contacted by police, but said it was common for the child to run away.
Several other incidents were also found where neighbors reported the home after seeing the children in precarious situations.
Neighbors told detectives that it is common to see the children of the home to be found wandering the neighborhood without supervision. In one instance, neighbors say they witnessed a 1-year-old in the middle of the street.
When the neighbor returned the infant to the home, Kaylee allegedly yelled at the 7-year-old who was supposed to be taking care of the infant.
Officers spoke to the children's father, Brian Wight, who claimed that he was often away at work. However, neighbors told police that it was common to see him sitting in his truck for hours outside the home while smoking cigarettes.
Following his arrest, Brian told police he had feared that Kaylee's mental health was causing the children to not be safe with her, but he didn't take any action to protect them.
