After faking the death of her 12-year-old autistic son and leaving him alone in a motel room for weeks, a woman from Tennessee has been arrested.
On Oct. 29, Vanessa Blanchard, 39, was contacted by a school resource officer after her son had not been in school for two days. The resource officer from New Providence Middle School was asking about her son's whereabouts as they had not been contacted for his absences, WKRN reported.
When the resource officer got in contact with Blanchard, she reportedly told them that her son had suffered a seizure and died.
After hearing that Blanchard's son had died, the community raised money to help cover the funeral costs for the boy, WKRN reported.
But, school officials contacted the funeral home and found out that no arrangements had been made for the boy.
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When they confronted Blanchard, she said that she was waiting for the results of an autopsy at Terranova Hospital in Clarksville before planning the funeral.
Two weeks later, on Nov. 16, school officials noticed that the laptop that was issued to the boy was being used at the Vacation Motor Motel.
Police went to the motel and found the boy in a room by himself, where he had been living for two weeks by himself.
Blanchard then told police that she had left him there alone and was checking on him daily or every other day, WKRN reported.
For lying about his death, she was charged with false impression of death, and for missing school, she was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child, police said.
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