A Bucks County woman has been charged with felony child endangerment after law enforcement learned she allegedly beat and assaulted her children on multiple occasions, and at one point, locked them in an outside shed during a cold evening last November, according to police.
Heather Marie Riddle, 41, of New Britain Township, has been charged with two felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses following a six-month investigation by the New Britain Township Police Department. She is currently being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of $50,000 cash bail.
The investigation began in early January, after the Bucks County Office of Children and Youth was notified of alleged domestic violence between Riddle and her romantic partner. Two of Riddle’s children — both under 8 years old — were interviewed at the Bucks County Child Advocacy Center, with the youngest saying they didn’t want to talk and wanted to return to their foster home, and the older sibling stating that Riddle made them scared and would hurt them and their sibling, according to charging documents.
The child stated that on one evening in November 2022, Riddle held a knife to their face along with their sibling, then took them both outside and locked them in a shed behind their home on Hilltown Pike, police said. The child stated they begged to be let out, but Riddle instead held a lighter up, threatened to burn the shed down, then said she was going to bed and “hoped they died in the cold,” according to the criminal complaint.
The two children were left alone in the dark shed for approximately an hour, with the oldest sibling giving their jacket to their younger sibling to use as a blanket and the two huddling together for warmth, police said.
Riddle also allegedly punched one of the children in the face and smashed their head into a wall on other occasions, according to investigators.
The younger sibling was interviewed again in March, at which time they corroborated the older sibling’s account of events and abuse, police said. A search warrant was executed on the home around the same time, with police saying the interior matched the descriptions provided by the children.
Both children currently remain in foster care, according to officials.
Riddle was officially charged on June 15, and she was taken into custody and arraigned on June 27. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 11 at 2 p.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage.
A review of court records shows Riddle has an extensive criminal history dating back to 2002, when she was arrested in Bristol Township on charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, disorderly conduct, and harassment. Riddle has had multiple convictions since then, mostly for misdemeanor charges of simple assault, trespassing, false incrimination, criminal mischief, retail theft, and related offenses.
Most recently, Riddle was sentenced to seven years’ probation in January 2022 as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors on two felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child and misdemeanor counts of DUI, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, driving on a suspended license, and careless driving.
Riddle was on probation at the time of her arrest on the new charges.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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