Evicted mom in custody after allegedly abandoning 2 small children in hot Houston apartment

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A mother accused of abandoning her children is now behind bars.

Kerri Green, 22, is accused of leaving her two young children alone in an apartment she had been evicted from weeks earlier.

According to court documents, she was evicted from her east Houston apartment in March.

Last week, when the apartment manager checked to make sure it was vacant, she told police she found two children inside a crib.

The children were wrapped tightly in blankets, and the apartment was hot.

One child was a 10-month-old girl who was "covered in vomit and dry mucus." The other child was a 2-year-old boy who was "not responsive to voices or touch," malnourished and "staring into space." He also appeared to be the same size as the much younger baby girl.

In court records, the officer noted that in the two hours police were on scene, Green never returned.

"She's a monster. She's a monster. She doesn't deserve to have kids," neighbor Ana Lopez said.

The man who claims to be the father of the children told Eyewitness News that the mother of his kids "didn't do anything wrong, and the story isn't correct."

A spokeswoman with Child Protective Services confirms they are in foster care and doing much better.

The man who says he's the father of the children said he wants to get custody of them. CPS says it is aware of the man. Before anyone can get custody of a child in any case, there's a process they must go through.

"We have to do a home study on them. We check out their home. We do a background check," said Tiffany Butler, with the Department of Family and Protective Services.

CPS says they go back to court next week for a hearing to determine what happens next.

"We talk to the judge and he will decide whether the children stay in foster care or if we have found another relative that can take them, we would tell the judge, we have found this person," said Butler.

She said it is up to the judge to decide.

Neighbors are grateful the manager found the children in time.

"It's just very sad," said Berta Sustaita, another neighbor.