Home Alone? NY couple accused of leaving 4 kids for 6 days

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - A New York couple is accused of leaving their four children home alone for six days without any food or heat, reports CBS New York.

Police say the children, ages 15, 13, 8, and 4, were left alone in a small house in Central Islip on Long Island while their parents - Maria and Tulio Ayala - stayed at a nearby hotel, according to the station. The couple is charged with endangering the welfare of their children.

The Ayalas insist they left their four kids in the care of Tulio Ayala’s mother, who lives in the basement, according to the station.  

“I have been a good parent for 15 years with them,” Tulio Ayala told the station following his arraignment.

“We were having marital problems, and so I told my mom, ‘I’ll be back in a few days — can you watch them?’ And you know, she said she was fine with it,” Tulio Ayala said. “I left them with money in my own house, and she lives in the basement and everything, so they were not unattended.

The Ayalas said they left their children $100 dollars, food stamps and space heaters. But the grandmother called police, reporting the children home alone.

“She never called or attempted to text me, and said look, ‘I don’t want to watch them,’” Tulio Ayala said. “I would have come home.”

“I’m very upset. I just can’t stand how family can do this to you,” added Maria Ayala.

Police said school officials notified them the children were left unsupervised for six days, according to the station. They said the grandmother worked and was not home supervising the children, and an oven was used to heat the home.

Neighbor Cathy Martin told the station the children's parents are rarely home and the grandmother could not afford to take care of the children. The children often seem hungry, she said.

Police said the children were not harmed and were released to a relative. The Ayalas said they will fight to get their children back.