The only thing is, she ate lunch with SP at her house that day. And I thought the story was that he then stayed there the rest of the afternoon and waited for the kids. In which case, it already places him at the house. I think she had a sitter before for after school, so I keep thinking it was normal for her to work a normal work day. I don't know.
I don't know about Florida, but in Texas, a school age child can be home alone after school unless the parent has reason to know that the child's behavior or developmental status puts them in more danger than the average child that age. It kind of developed out the whole "latchkey" child thing.
Anything that changes the equation, siblings who physically hurt each other, children who wander, children with developmental issues, adhd, etc, makes the state concerned that a parent should have known a child was at additional risk.
I was a single mother. I didn't have much money, and I put myself through school. For me, it was never even an option to let my young child walk home alone, and I didn't let him stay home alone ever until much later. I rearranged my lunch hour in order to pick him up, or I paid for after school care (a lot of programs have grants for parents of lower income). There are resources out there if you pursue them.
