Police: Shoplifting moms leave 4 children under age 7 in hot parked car in East Hanover

Peggy Wright | Morristown Daily Record

Show Caption Hide Caption Video: Watch how fast the temperature climbs inside a closed car After about 20 minutes, the temperature inside a closed car climbs more than 25 degrees.

EAST HANOVER — Two women left their four children, all under the age of 7, in a parked car during Saturday's 90-plus temperatures as they shoplifted for about an hour, according to court documents.

Mother of three Arlena T. Keye, 27, of Easton, Pennsylvania and Shaday H. Williams, 27, of Newark, mother of one of the children, have been charged with shoplifting $915 worth of items from Marshall's, conspiracy to shoplift and abuse and neglect of children.

The children, ages 7, 6, 5, and 11 months, were left unsupervised in a car in 90-degree heat, according to court records.

Police responded to Marshall's on Route 10 on a report of two women detained for shoplifting $915 worth of merchandise, criminal complaints state.

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While police officers were in the store with the suspects, a store security officer reported four unsupervised young children had been found in a car parked in the lot. The car's engine was off and the windows were slightly open, court records show.

"The children were visibly upset," but they were not physically injured, a court affidavit stated. One child told police they were in the car for 99 minutes, but officers determined they were in the vehicle for about one hour, court records state.

Both women were held in the Morris County jail. Court records did not show where the children were placed.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@GannettNJ.com.