A Texas judge ruled Thursday there was no probable cause against a mother who allegedly put her son in the trunk of the car to avoid being exposed to Covid-19 – but the case might not be over yet.
Beam was charged after authorities arrived at a Houston-area Covid testing site on January 3 following a report that a health services official had found the child in trunk of her car. She was released from jail Sunday after she made bail.
The health director told police “the defendant confirmed that her son, K.H., who is a 13-year-old child, was in the trunk of the car due (to) the child having been tested positive for Covid.”
Beam is a teacher in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, which said earlier this week that she was on administrative leave.
When the health official asked Beam to see the child, the mother opened the trunk where the “child was lying down inside the trunk.” The mother was then told that the child would not get a test until he was removed from the trunk and placed in the back seat of the car. The health official called police and returned to the car where the child was found in the back seat.
During the investigation, police were able to review surveillance cameras at an adjacent middle school and corroborate that the child “exited the trunk of the car and entered into the back seat of the vehicle on the passenger side,” the warrant said.
The mother was released from jail Sunday on a $1,500 bond, according to a document from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office website
Beam is a teacher in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), the school district said in a statement to CNN.
“CFPD was alerted that a child was in the trunk of a car at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site last week. Law enforcement conducted a full investigation, resulting in a warrant for arrest. Thankfully, the child was not harmed. Sarah Beam most recently worked as a teacher in CFISD and is currently on administrative leave,” the statement said.
CNN has reached out to Beam but has yet to receive a response. CNN has not been able to confirm if she has a lawyer.