On September 21st, 2017, the Johnston, Iowa police service visited Macke’s home after receiving a tip that the children had been left alone. What they saw when they got there shocked them.
Upon entering the residence, police learned that Macke had left for Europe the day before, jetting off on a 12-day vacation while her 4 children (12-year-old twins and two girls aged 6 and 7) had been left to fend for themselves. Photos posted on the mother’s (now deleted) Instagram account show her having a grand ol’ time posing at the Walhalla Memorial in Bavaria, the Regensburg Cathedral in Germany, and other notable sites.
Johnston Police Lt. Tyler Tompkins told KCCI, “I’ve never heard of anything like this before. We have situations where parents go next door or parents may go out for the night, and while that’s not advisable either depending on the age of the children, obviously leaving the country is a totally different situation.”
“This, where a parent has left the country and left the kids home alone, I’ve never heard of it before.”
Oh, but it gets worse. When police contacted Macke to tell her that she needed to come back and take care of her children, she didn’t think anything was wrong. Lynn Aswegan with the Johnston Police Department explained, “She didn’t understand or agree with the concern.”
In fact, after being asked by police to return, Macke decided to wait another 7 DAYS before flying home to her kids! Upon her arrival, she was promptly arrested for 4 counts of child endangerment with substantial risk. She was also charged with one count of transfer of pistol to a person under 21. Turns out she had also left an unloaded gun and ammunition in reach of the children while she was away.
Aswegan provided additional details, saying, “There was nobody lined up to be with the children. Apparently [Macke] had talked to a couple of family members that earlier on had some conflicts watching the children during that time-frame, and gave them the indication she had it take care of.”
“[Macke] felt comfortable that the kids were responsible enough to take care of themselves during that duration.”
Macke’s twins are living with extended family members while the two youngest are being cared for by their father, Macke’s ex-husband Matthew. In response to the events, Matthew has said:
“I wish I could say I am surprised, but I am not. In my eyes, it was a clear deliberate, intentional act.”
Macke has been released on bond and ordered to have no zero contact with her children. At the time of this writing, she is currently awaiting trial and facing up to 40 years in prison.
