Myrtle Beach police have charged two people with child neglect after responding to hotel room.

Officers responded to 8500 Costa Verde Drive in Myrtle Beach around 12:40 a.m. on January 1 for a fire and medical call, according to an incident report from the Myrtle Beach Police Department. Upon arriving, an officer entered the room, which reportedly smelled of smoke, and found the smoke alarm going off. 

The report says both suspects were standing in the room talking with fire department crews and hotel management. The hotel manager reportedly told police that when he entered the room, it was filled with smoke and that he saw a paper bag on the stove that was on fire. The manager also said he entered the bedroom, where he found the suspects in bed. He told police he shook and verbally tried to wake them up, but this didn’t work. 

The manager also told police he then left the room and went back to the living room, where he noticed a baby carrier, according to the report. A 3-month-old baby was in the seat and the manager said he took the carrier outside to the balcony to get the baby out of the smoke. The manager then reportedly contacted the hotel front desk to call 911. 

In the report, an officer says he spoke with the suspects. The male suspect reportedly said he had been drinking and the female suspect reportedly stated that she hadn’t been drinking, but was taking medicine. The suspects allegedly kept saying they were not passed out, just tired. 

The suspects reported to police that they had returned to the room around 11:30 p.m. and laid down to sleep, says the report. They also reportedly stated that other occupants in the room must have leaned against the stove, turning it on and causing the bag to catch fire. 

The baby was taken into emergency protective custody and taken to the police department, the report says. The grandmother of the female suspect was contacted and came to the police department, and the child was released to her. 

The suspects were arrested “for unlawful neglect of a child because they were found unresponsive and left the child unattended,” states the report. “They also left something on the stove causing it to catch fire and pose a life threatening situation to the child.”

According to Myrtle Beach Police Department booking records, 27-year-old William Scott Turnlington and 24-year-old Karla Michelle Cruz-velaquez were arrested in the case.