Jennifer Redelman, 32, of Portage, IN, was arrested Dec. 22 after leaving her son with a stranger at Walmart. Police were contacted just after 1 p.m. when a woman alerted Walmart employees to the situation.

The woman told officers she had met Redelman at the jewelry counter in the store and spoken with her for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Redelman then left her 4 year old son with the woman, giving her only a telephone number and email address along with her first name.

Walmart employees told officers that Redelman had been in the store since about 2 a.m. She told the woman with whom she left her son that she had multiple sclerosis and was in severe pain. The woman offered to help her and give her a ride home. Surveillance video showed Redelman leaving the store at 12:50 p.m.

Police were able to determine Redelman’s address and went to her apartment, but did not find her there. They did find an address for the boy’s father, and contacted him along with Child Protective Services.

Redelman was spotted re-entering the store at approximately 3 p.m. and was then escorted to an office, where police spoke with her and eventually took her into custody. They also found lipstick in her coat pocket which was believed to have been stolen from the store. She reportedly told officers that she had left her son with the woman in the store because “she was a nice lady.”

Redelman was charged with neglect of a dependent, abandonment and theft. She was transported to the Porter county jail.

Source: The Times NW Indiana