O'Brien to get new hearing

Flathead County prosecutors filed a motion this week to increase the bond of a woman accused of neglecting her children.

Rachel Marie O'Brien, 24, is accused of leaving her 2-year-old and 3-year-old girls home alone for more than nine hours in squalid conditions.

The new bond hearing is Sept. 13 in Flathead District Court.

O'Brien was arrested Aug. 30 on a $50,000 warrant for two counts of felony criminal endangerment.

She was released that same day on her own recognizance after an initial hearing in Justice Court.

O'Brien was charged with criminal endangerment after a concerned neighbor noticed her two small children had been left alone all day on Aug. 4.

When Kalispell police entered O'Brien's Liberty Street apartment on Aug. 4, they found half-eaten food spilled all over the floor, a piece of toilet paper with feces on it laying in the middle of the room, and a knife balanced within the children's reach.

"The apartment was cluttered. The TV was on with only loud static coming from it," court documents read.

"The kitchen garbage was overflowing with feces-smeared toilet paper and feces-filled diapers. A frying pan with rotting food was on the counter," the documents said.

O'Brien was at work that day from about 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., time cards show. Police recovered her children at about 8:30 p.m.

The children were turned over to the Montana Department of Child and Family Services, which refused to comment Thursday about where the children are now. Officials cited state confidentiality laws.

At the time of her arrest, O'Brien was on probation for writing bad checks. She received a five-year deferred sentence in 2004 after being convicted of that charge and for making a false statement to an officer. She also is currently awaiting trial on felony theft charges.

If convicted, O'Brien faces up to 20 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com