Judge Delays Custody Decision For Wandering Girl

MIAMI (CBS4) – A largely absentee mother and an allegedly negligent father will have to wait at least another week to learn who will get custody of a little girl left home alone in Miami with access to an arsenal of assault weapons.

The girl's father, Luis Bianchi, was charged with child neglect on July 24 after he reportedly left her in his Little Havana apartment which was filled with loaded weapons.

Bianchi told police he thought the girl's mother, Liz Marie Bones, his ex-girlfriend, was coming to watch their daughter, Analise Bianchi, while he went to his job at a liquor store.

Bones said she rarely saw her daughter since she and Bianchi separated about a year ago.

At a hearing July 26 Miami-Dade Juvenile Court Judge Alan Fine ordered that the child be placed with her mother, but then rescinded that decision after the mom tested positive for marijuana.

On Monday, representatives from the Department of Children and Families told Fine that they have not had time to assess whether the girl should be placed with a relative or remain a ward of the state.

In a surprise move during the proceeding, Bianchi's attorney said the father intends to fight for custody of his daughter, even as he faces felony criminal charges of having neglected her.

Waiting in the wings as a potential caregiver, is a second cousin of the father, who also happens to be Bianchi's girlfriend.

The judge determined that the best decision at the moment is no decision. The girl will remain in DCF custody until at least the next hearing on the matter Monday, August 19th.

The state has expressed reluctance for the girl to be placed with either parent, and the judge granted the agency's request that both mother and father undergo psychological evaluation.  The mother's attorney told the judge she is continuing to cooperate with all court orders and is continuing to "drop," or provide urine samples, for drug testing.