'I'm just an innocent bystander': Woman who dumped her friend's toddler on stranger's doorstep blames the boy's own MOM for giving her bad directions and says she only ran away because it was 'chilly' outside

  • Keairra Woods defended herself for dumping the kid in incident caught on video 
  • The two-year-old was abandoned at a home in Spring, Texas, on Wednesday 
  • Woods was filmed ringing the doorbell and leaving before the door opened
  • The boy's mother said she asked the woman to drop him off at his father's house
  • Father Willie Simmons said he only realized what happened the following day

By Keith Griffith and Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:25 EDT, 20 October 2018 | Updated: 19:33 EDT, 20 October 2018

Keairra Woods faces felony child endangerment charges in Texas

Keairra Woods faces felony child endangerment charges in Texas

The woman who was caught on video dumping a friend's toddler on a stranger's doorstep has spoken out to place the blame on the child's mother. 

Keairra Woods faces felony child endangerment charges after leaving two-year-old Royal Prince Simmons in front of a home in Spring, Texas on Wednesday night and running away.

Now, Woods blames the boy's mother for giving her bad directions, calling herself an 'innocent bystander' in the incident that outraged the nation after police released doorbell video.

'At the end of the day, y'all trying to blame me, but it was really the mother's fault. I'm just an innocent bystander,' she said in an interview on Friday with ABC 13.

Toddler Royal Simmons (pictured) was left alone on a stranger's doorstep by a friend of his mother's, authorities say

Toddler Royal Simmons (pictured) was left alone on a stranger's doorstep by a friend of his mother's, authorities say

Woods explained that she had offered to drop young Royal off while the child's mother waited at a convenience store, because of a restraining order against the mother by the girlfriend of the child's father.

'I followed the GPS. Mind you, I'm still on the phone with her, so by the time I get to the house, I say, 'Well I just pulled up to the house.' She said, 'Okay, get out the car, get his bag and go to the door,'' Woods said in the interview.

'So I ring the doorbell, the lady walks like halfway to the door. That's when I took off running. And the only reason I took off running was because it was chilly outside and I didn't have no sweater on, as you can see in the video,' Woods continued.

'I just feel destroyed because I love kids - y'll making me look bad,' Woods said

The incident occurred at about 8.20pm on Wednesday, when the low temperature for the day was 56 degrees. 

Police released the video in an attempt to identify Woods and locate Royal's guardians. As it turned out, Woods had dropped off the boy at the house next door to the father's home - although the father was not home at the time.

Royal's mother (pictured) said the incident was a big misunderstanding on Thursday
Willie Simmons, Royal's father, actually lives next door to the house his child was left at

Royal's mother (pictured) said the incident was a big misunderstanding on Thursday


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Investigators said that the father had received a text from the mother saying she would drop the child off in the afternoon on Wednesday - but when that didn't happen, the father believed the mom's plans had changed and left for the evening. 

Willie Simmons, Royal's father, told authorities he didn't realize what had happened until a news crew showed him footage from his neighbor's video doorbell on Thursday morning.

'What if my neighbor wasn't there? If my neighbor wasn't there, my son would have been roaming up and down the street,' Simmons previously told ABC News 

'That was very irresponsible. And I feel the lady who dropped my son off needs to be held accountable.' 

Woods was seen in the footage approaching the house on Legends Ridge Drive at around 8.20pm.

The residential street where the boy was abandoned is full of large family homes with backyard pools and a number of schools nearby. It remains unclear if he lives with his father there 

The residential street where the boy was abandoned is full of large family homes with backyard pools and a number of schools nearby. It remains unclear if he lives with his father there 

The woman dragged the child along the driveway carrying her phone and his backpack in her other hand
The woman dragged the child along the driveway carrying her phone and his backpack in her other hand

The woman dragged the child along the driveway carrying her phone and his backpack in her other hand 

She had the boy in one hand, dragging him along the drive, and had a monkey-shaped backpack in the other.  

The video shows her approaching the door quickly and dumping the boy and his belongings down. 

She then rang the doorbell, knocked on the door and sprinted away, leaving the little boy standing clueless in front of the door. 

She hopped back into the white car she was filmed arriving in and drove away. 

When the homeowner answered, the little boy was staring blankly at her with his belongings by his side. 

The woman took him inside and called police who then reviewed her surveillance camera footage.

She then rang the doorbell, knocked on the door and ran back to her car
She then rang the doorbell, knocked on the door and ran back to her car

She then rang the doorbell, knocked on the door and ran back to her car 

Afterwards, the boy was taken into protective custody but within several hours, tips from the public identified him.  

It is now not clear if he remains in police custody or if he has been reunited with his father.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office did not respond to DailyMail.com's inquiries on Thursday morning. 

The street where the boy was left is full of large family homes worth an average of $275,000. 

There are parks, tennis courts and schools nearby, and many of the houses have large backyards with their own pools.    

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Woman who dumped her friend's toddler on stranger's doorstep blames the boy's own MOM

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