A Calhoun mother and her boyfriend are facing serious charges after police say they left two young children home alone while they traveled over 90 minutes away.
According to Calhoun Police, 30-year-old Alexandra Woodward and her boyfriend, John McHugh, left her 8- and 10-year-old sons at home around 9:15 p.m. on the night of April 15th. The couple told officers they were headed to a storage unit in Duluth, more than an hour and a half away.
The boys’ father told police he called his sons that night—only to find out they were alone. He immediately contacted authorities.
Officers arrived for a welfare check and found the children unsupervised. Police also reported an open alcoholic beverage on the table and a vape device on the counter—both easily within the children’s reach.
When police called Woodward on one of the boys’ cell phones, she first claimed she had only been gone for twenty minutes—then admitted she was still thirty minutes away. In reality, it took her over an hour to return home.
Police contacted the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. After confirming custody rights, the children were turned over to their father just after 11:30 that night.
In a follow-up message to police, the father expressed deep concern. He noted the boys were new to the home, which was an old house recently flipped, and warned that hazards like bad wiring could pose real risks.
Both Woodward and McHugh were arrested when they returned and are now facing first-degree child cruelty charges.
