Mom arrested for locking kid in closet

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) - Police say an Albuquerque mom locked her daughter in a closet and left her there for days.

The mom told police her daughter was not behaving and she did not know what else to do.

The girl is 14, and she said Mom locked her in the closet Tuesday and wasn't allowed out until police rescued her Friday.

It happened at an apartment complex off Montgomery and Jefferson in Northeast Albuquerque. Police say Detra Davis, 36, stuffed her 14-year-old daughter in a closest for five days.

Somehow the teen called her dad who lives in Detroit. He called police and Friday afternoon they found the unthinkable.

"It doesn't seem like somebody would do something like that," said a neighbor who didn't want to be identified.

The girl was living in a six-foot by four-foot closet. Her mother told police she removed the light bulb and fixed the lock so it would only open with a key from the outside.

Neighbors say they rarely saw the family.

"Mom seems like she's was always gone and her daughters were always here," neighbors said.

The teen's 9-year-old sister was also in the home when police got there. She wouldn't let them in and told them she couldn't let her sister out. Police finally convinced her to open a window and they climbed through to rescue the girls.

According to a criminal complaint, the 14-year-old says mom locked her up because she wasn't following the rules. She also told them her mom only let her out for 10 minutes at a time to eat and use the restroom.

"They seemed pretty quiet, just like us," said one neighbor. "My niece and her kid play all the time."

Neighbors say Davis was friendly and her apartment was quiet.

"She seemed like a nice lady. It's unbelievable," neighbors said.

The criminal complaint also shows Davis told police locking her daughter up in the closet was a temporary solution for her behavior. She said she planned to get outside help after the holiday weekend.

Davis is charged with abandonment and child abuse. She has since bonded out of jail. Her children are staying with family.