A Georgia couple is behind bars after authorities allege that they locked their 5-year-old in their vehicle for a totally bizarre reason. Investigation Discovery’s CrimeFeed reports that Amanda Nicole Savage and Gary Lee Savage have been charged with cruelty to children and shoplifting .
The New York Daily News reports that the couple were in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina, when they decided to stop by Priscilla’s Lingerie Store — a shop that not only sells lingerie, but sex toys and other adult novelties. However, the Georgia couple didn’t have any plans to purchase items from the store. Instead, they allegedly chose to go on a little shoplifting spree — which included sex toys and lube. That’s not the worst part of this crime, though.
Authorities say that the duo decided to leave their 5-year-old child alone in the freezing vehicle, locking the doors and leaving the windows shut. Authorities were alerted to this behavior when Amanda and Gary Savage set off an alarm while attempting to leave the store with their allegedly stolen items. Police officers discovered the child alone in the car when they arrived at the scene to deal with the alleged shoplifting incident.
To make matters worse in this sad case, authorities believe that the family-of-three may be homeless and living out of their car. This suspicion came to light when the couple provided authorities with false information about their current place of residence. They claimed to be staying at a nearby hotel, but police found that nobody with their names had been staying at the place they named.
@IDCrimeFeed @truth4ever87 Meth makes you do things like this……..Very sad..
— James F Barry (@jamesfbarry45) February 18, 2016
@DarrenKavinoky o my god???? I mean thats terrible doing that for anything,but lube!Can you ever really be that desperate to do that?Jesus wept
— Rebecca (@Bexwa) February 17, 2016
@DarrenKavinoky I know there’s a joke in there somewhere and if anyone can tell it its @jimjefferies ????
— pinkeysmomma (@pinkeysmomma) February 17, 2016
Social media is reacting with disgust and outrage at the details of this news story. Meanwhile, others are making jokes about the effects of using illicit drugs like crystal meth — though it has not been reported that the couple has been suspected of any kind of drug use pertaining to their arrests.
This isn’t the only time a Georgia couple has made headlines for similar crimes. Last year, Canton police arrested Amy Lynn Davis and Charles Adam Ellison after they found that the couple had kept an 11-year-old child locked in a closet. Both individuals were charged with false imprisonment and cruelty to children.
Another Georgia couple was arrested last year for a far more horrifying crime against a child. The New York Daily Newsreports that 25-year-old Lauren Fristed and 26-year-old Herbert George Landell were charged with murderafter their 10-week-old daughter died a slow and inhumane death. The emaciated baby essentially starved to death because the parents allegedly watered down the breast milk on which she relied for sustenance.
As for the Georgia couple in this latest wonky case, authorities have said that the car in which the child was found was “dirty” and “looked as if they had been living in it.” They’ve also revealed that temperatures that night got down to just two degrees above freezing — far too cold to be leaving a young child in a car without heat.
Reports aren’t indicating whether or not the couple has posted bail or if they are still being held behind bars. There are also no reports indicating whether or not the 5-year-old child in this case has been placed into the care of caseworkers or other family members.
[Photo via Myrtle Beach Police]
