Mother accused of leaving sons held for court
A former North Union Township woman accused of leaving her teenage sons at her home and then moving to Virginia will have her day in Fayette County Court. Kelly A. Popovich, 37, now of Virginia Beach, Va., was charged in May with endangering the welfare of a child and theft for leaving her sons at their home in Hopwood.
Following a preliminary hearing Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Wendy D. Dennis, the charge of child endangerment was held for court, while a theft charge was withdrawn by the prosecution.
Dennis issued a warrant April 25 for Popovich’s arrest. She was arraigned May 7 on the charges and released on $25,000 unsecured bond.
Popovich’s son, Justin Popovich, 18, testified that his mother left him and his 14-year-old brother at their home while she went to Virginia Beach with her fianc?e to try and find work.
Justin Popovich testified that his mother, before leaving, also took $1,500 of an inheritance he had just received to fund her trip.
Justin Popovich told Assistant District Attorney Michelle Kelly that he understood the money also would be used to keep paying the utility bills.
However, he testified that he soon realized that the bills were not being paid and that water service had been shut off to the house.
He told the court that he tried to get part-time jobs to pay the bills, while continuing with his classes at Laurel Highlands High School but could not find a job that paid enough to cover the expenses.
When Justin Popovich’s 16-year-old brother, who had been living with a relative, called an uncle to report the situation, the uncle called police.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by state police Trooper Stefani Plume, officers responded to Popovich’s home on Woodstock Avenue March 26.
When troopers arrived at the home, they found Justin Popovich, along with his 14- and 16-year-old brothers, alone at the house.
Plume said Kelly Popovich allegedly told her sons that she would remain in contact with them while in Virginia but had not called home to check on them and had changed her cell phone number.
Justin Popovich testified that while many relatives did stop in throughout March to check on the brothers, he could not reach his mother by telephone, and when food supplies ran low, they had to rely on food being sent by mail from a concerned relative living in Florida.
In his closing arguments, defense attorney Herbert A. Terrell told the court that the prosecution had not met its burden of proof to proceed with the charges and that Kelly Popovich had planned to move her sons to Virginia with her in the coming months.
“I don’t know that there has been an endangering of any child,” Terrell said. “In this parent’s eyes, she thought that it was appropriate and safe to do what she did.”
Kelly argued that whether Kelly Popovich thought her actions were appropriate or not, they constitute abandonment of her children.
“This is a mother who picks up with her fianc?e and does not give money for her children’s needs but takes money from them…she was gone. She was out of the picture,” Kelly said.
Dennis held all charges for court and admonished Kelly Popovich.
“Children need full-time care, not partial care. I am holding this case over for the court of common pleas,” Dennis said.
Justin Popovich and his brothers now live with an aunt in Uniontown.
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