Mom Who Dropped Kid in Cheetah Pit Is Childcare Worker

The woman accused of dangling and dropping her 2-year-old boy into a zoo's cheetah exhibit is herself a childcare worker, Cleveland.com reports. Michelle Schwab is an assistant director, no less, at KinderCare in Columbus, Ohio, the company's corporate office revealed today. Schwab "is currently home with her family and will remain out of our center while this issue is investigated and addressed," says a KinderCare spokeswoman in an email. KinderCare has also launched its own investigation, she adds. Meanwhile, Schwab has been charged with misdemeanor child endangering, WKYC reports.

Witnesses say the Delaware, Ohio, resident dropped her boy into the cheetah exhibit at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on Saturday. The cheetahs stayed away as the boy's parents swooped in and pulled him out; the boy suffered a broken leg in the ordeal. Schwab's arraignment is slated for April 22 in Cleveland Criminal Court. (More zoo stories.)