Ohio Husband and Wife have a 2 year old boy, Toddler. Husband and Wife take Toddler to the Cleveland MetroPark Zoo.
Wife allegedly extends her arms to hold Toddler out beyond a safety railing and directly above the cheetah habitat … and drops Toddler into it.
Wife and Husband both promptly leap into the exhibit to retrieve Toddler, and do successfully rescue him without attracting the interest of any cheetahs. Toddler did break a leg during the incident anyway though, according to reports.
Wife has been charged with misdemeanor child endangerment.
As if that weren’t disturbing enough in and of itself, it turns out that Wife is the assistant director of a Columbus branch of private daycare and preschool establishments operating nationwide.
Wife is reportedly barred from her workplace pending the outcome of both internal and police investigations and reviews.
Read more in
- this USA Today article: Mom charged in cheetah zoo incident is childcare worker
- this New York Daily News article: Ohio cheetah mom charged for dropping son, 2, into zoo exhibit and
- this NBC News article: Mother Who Dropped Child Into Cheetah Exhibit Is Childcare Worker .