Children found alone in filthy motel room, mother arrested

Officers arrived to find not one but two children unattended in the room, both lying in a bed.

The children appeared conscious and alert but in need of medical attention due to apparent neglect and the poor condition of the room, which police reported was filled with dirty diapers and trash throughout.

EMS and the Barrow County Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) were called to assist and it was determined the children were highly congested and in need of medical attention. They were put in the ambulance and transported to the hospital.

Further investigation revealed that the children’s parents, identified as Francis Smarte and Leinienh Smarte, were nowhere to be found.

Efforts to reach them via phone were unsuccessful.

Investigation revealed a traffic stop that was conducted on a vehicle registered to Leinienh on Oct. 11, 2023. Subsequent analysis of traffic camera footage showed the vehicle numerous times throughout Winder and in Bethlehem and police were able to locate the vehicle while traveling on Hwy. 81 and follow it back to the Jameson Inn parking lot.

Upon approaching, officers found the mother, along with five children inside the vehicle, four of whom were improperly retrained. Officers found three children in car seats, none of which were seat belted or strapped down in any form, and a small child sitting in the back seat floorboard.

During questioning, Leinienh told officers she was in custody of all the children by herself while her husband was at work when she left the two children inside the room. She said she had to pick up her daughter from school and didn’t have room in her vehicle for all her children, so she left two of them in the room.

Following DFCS investigation, all seven children were placed in the care of a relative. Leinienh was taken into custody and transported to the Barrow County Detention Center, where she faces charges related to child neglect.