What Happened to Nicole and Diana Schoo? The Children Left Home Alone

In December 1992, 9-year-old Nicole and her 4-year-old sister Diana woke up to an empty house. Their parents had flown to Mexico for a nine-day vacation, leaving behind frozen dinners and a note. That moment launched one of the most shocking child neglect cases in American history and left two young girls forever changed.

So what happened to Nicole and Diana Schoo after that fateful day, and how did their story end up redefining protections for children?

According to People, on Dec. 21, 1992, Nicole and Diana were discovered alone in their family’s home while their parents vacationed in Acapulco. Their house had no adult presence, no reachable contact number, and just frozen meals for the girls to microwave and eat.

Authorities were alerted when Nicole fled to a neighbor’s home to report a smoke alarm. Investigators found the girls isolated for days.

The parents, David (45) and Sharon (35) Schoo, were arrested at an airport upon returning from Mexico. They faced charges of felony child abandonment, cruelty to children, and endangerment. The case fueled outrage nationwide, earning the couple titles like “America’s most hated couple.” It also sparked legislative reforms: Illinois revised its law to define child abandonment when a child under 14 is left alone for 24 hours or longer.

This incident happened two years after the hit movie Home Alone debuted in theaters, but this was far from accidental.

There was no adult in the home and the girls didn't have a phone number to reach one. They were left with a note on when to eat and when to go to bed. The food? A stack of frozen dinners and cereal. But this wasn't the first time. Nicole said, at the time, they had been left alone for four days when their parents went to Massachusetts the summer before.

After the news broke, Nicole and Diana were placed with their maternal grandmother and later in foster care while the legal process played out. The Schoos were indicted on charges including felony abandonment, neglect, endangerment, and cruelty to children.

They avoided trial by entering a plea deal and received two years’ probation in April 1993. The girls' childhoods were marked by shame and media scrutiny. Nicole told reporters she often wondered what her parents were doing “for a long time.”

There has been no additional update beyond the parents serving probation and the girls getting adopted.

The real-life Home Alone incident forever altered two childhoods and brought a quiet suburb into the national spotlight. Their story drove legal change and remains a stark reminder of how neglect can hide behind the treetops of a quiet neighborhood. The girls survived the ordeal, but the impact of that vacation left them and the legal system permanently changed.