2 arrested, accused of child neglect following 2-year-old’s death in York

YORK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Two people in York County are behind bars on child-neglect charges.

Authorities say Jesse Gunn and Anna Raines have been charged with felony child neglect. The charges come after the death of a 22-month-old girl on July 7, however, authorities have not officially said whether the charges are directly connected to the girl’s death.

Investigators say they believe the little girl had been dead for some time before they got there.

“It’s really disturbing especially if you have kids of your own,” said Major Ron Montgomery. “It was a pretty bad situation for this child.”

Major Montgomery says when they got to the home on July 7, the child wasn’t breathing. Investigators say while they were there, they noticed the home was dirty, and there were clothes, trash and dishes everywhere. Investigators say the area the baby was sleeping in was especially disturbing.

“There were a lot of cigarettes and cigarette burns in and around the baby’s bed, urine on the blankets and clothing,” said Montgomery.

Investigators say there were drugs in the little girl’s diaper bag and loaded syringes found within reach of the child.

Investigators say this gave them enough evidence to arrest Anna Raines and Jesse Gunn for felony child neglect.

Court Documents say Raines admitted to leaving around 2 that morning to meet her drug dealer. She says she left the 2-year-old girl with Jesse Gunn. Gunn says at some point in the night, he placed the little girl in the crib then woke up to her lying face down on the floor by their bed. Both admitted to using drugs in the days prior to the little girl’s death.

Major Montgomery says they’re waiting on the autopsy results to determine how exactly the little girl died, but he says more charges could be pending.

“What we’re waiting on now is for the medical examiner to determine the cause of death and those results right now are not available to us and probably won’t be for some time,” said Montgomery.

Investigators say Raines’ father was also living in the home. They say he hasn’t been charged with anything relating to this case.

“When it involves children, particularly of that age, two years old, that really don’t have any way to get out of that environment and take care of themselves, it takes a toll on you,” said Montgomery.

Raines and Gunn are due back in court for their preliminary hearings on October 5.

Both are being held in the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail without bail.