A Havertown woman was charged with manslaughter Monday afternoon after police found her 3-year-old daughter and her dog dead in her car Saturday, authorities said.
On Aug. 6, Kelly Brown, 40, left Pennsylvania with her daughter Fiona to visit family in Maine, according to an affidavit.
Surveillance video showed that Brown parked the car at around 2 a.m. Saturday morning in a Freshies parking lot in Milford, Maine. She did not return to the car between 5:56 a.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Police were called to investigate the vehicle at around 8 p.m. that night. They found Fiona and their family dog, Penelope, dead on the floor of the car, which was locked. The high temperature that day was 82 degrees, and Fiona and Penelope had been locked inside the car for more than 15 hours.
The affidavit said Brown returned to the car at 8:30 p.m. and was detained by Penobscot County police officers.
According to court documents, Brown told police she was cleaning up trash around the Freshies parking lot for most of the day. When she went to clean up trash near the Penobscot River embankment, she said she fell into the river and had to swim to the other side.
Officers stated that Brown was not wet when she returned to the car, but Brown allegedly told them her clothes had dried since she had gotten out of the river.
Brown and her daughter had been subjects of a well-being check that had been requested by worried family members.
The affidavit said Brown had not been heard from since Aug. 7, and that Brown's mother reported her daughter and granddaughter missing after Brown posted concerning videos on her social media pages. In those videos, Brown claimed to be "seeing spirits," according to the affidavit.
Brown's bail has been set at $50,000 by a Maine district court judge, under the condition that she cannot interact with any children under age 18.
