Parents say babies were neglected at Bellevue daycare - starving, bleeding rashes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Kids at an illegally run daycare in Bellevue were left starving and with rashes, according to parents.

This week, a mom found her 3-month-old baby dead at that same business. Metro Police say the caregiver, Anne Jordan, was watching seven kids in her apartment and fled. Hours later she was found at Harpeth River State Park with self-inflicted wounds.

WSMV4 uncovered Jordan was unlicensed and was watching over five kids, which is illegal in Tennessee.

One Nashville single mom almost sent her kid to Jordan’s daycare but got a sense she was neglecting children when she visited. She knows finding affordable childcare in the city isn’t easy.

“You have someone who is willing to watch your kid for a reasonable rate, you kind of want to overlook all the red flags,” says the mom.

That’s why she turned to a Facebook group and found a care giver named Annie Clark, who Metro Police call Anne Jordan.

“You found her, you were messaging her, you went there,” says WSMV4′s Marissa Sulek to the mom. “What was it that told you ‘no’?”

“It was a gut feeling,” she says. “It was absolutely a gut feeling.”

“What was it like when you interacted with her (Jordan)?” asks Sulek.

“She was pleasant,” she responds. “I didn’t get any red flags when I talked with her per se. It was mostly her apartment.”

It was inside Jordan’s apartment at Avana Lexington she saw those red flags, which she claims was too clean for kids.

“Whenever I walked in, I noticed she had a glass table (a glass coffee table) and there were a bunch of breakables in the room which I thought was really odd,” she remembers.

“Did you ever suspect she was neglecting kids inside there?” asks Sulek.

“Now that you mention it, it makes sense,” she says. “Because it was too clean for me personally. It didn’t look like kids had played there.”

WSMV4 spoke with parents who currently had their kids under Jordan’s care. They weren’t ready to go on camera yet, but told Sulek their babies would come home starving, with bleeding diaper rashes, and reeking of feces.

As for the single mom who spoke with WSMV4, she says she didn’t have enough proof to go to the police.

“So, when you heard about this what were your first thoughts. Considering a 3-month-old baby was found in an apartment you were considering sending your own child to?” Sulek asks.

“I was terrified,” the mom replies. “You just wish your gut feeling is right all the time and mine was absolutely right, just noticing all the red flags.”

For parents looking for licensed and trustworthy childcare go to the Tennessee Department of Human Services website.

Copyright 2023 WSMV. All rights reserved.