FIFE, Wash. — The brother of a woman who left her son in a motel while she gambled said the state shouldn't take the child away.
The brother of 22-year-old Sarah Huson said her family has been trying for some time to get custody of her two sons, ages three and one.
Huson is charged with leaving the 3-year-old locked in a Fife motel room while she went gambling with her boyfriend. Child Protective Services may take both children away from the family.
"I think the most important thing is the children not leaving the family," said Shayne Huson, the suspect's brother.
Huson said the accusations made against his sister and her boyfriend have left his family stunned.
"It was devastating. I mean, it was shock. I didn't believe it at first. I thought, 'This just can't be right,'" Shayne Huson said.
Fife police said Huson spent at least four hours gambling at the Emerald Queen Casino. When her boyfriend -- 26-year-old Scott Weems -- showed up at the motel at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, asking to get into the room to check on the boy, the clerk called 911.
The two now face child abandonment and drug charges after pipes with traces of marijuana and meth were allegedly found in their room.
Shayne Huson said the family is concerned about his sister's boys and where they'll end up.
"We want to get those kids in my mom's custody so she can raise them and have a good upbringing," he said.
KIRO
