Crime
Florida 2-year-old dies after being left inside a hot car for 14 hours
The toddler had a 4-year-old sibling who was also in the car but managed to escape
May 22, 2023 8:21am
Updated: May 22, 2023 8:21am
A two-year-old Florida toddler died after her parents purposefully left her behind in a hot car for more than 14 hours in 80-degree heat on Tuesday, authorities said.
Police officers responded to a phone call at about 3:43 p.m. in Prosperity, an unincorporated community in Holmes County, Florida. The woman on the phone, later identified as the mother, was not able to describe the situation entirely to the police because she was “screaming” and “disturbed.”
When police officers arrived, they encountered an individual holding the toddler, which had a body temperature of 107 degrees. Offers gave the child life-saving measures until emergency medical services arrived. However, the child was pronounced dead soon after.
The mother, identified as Kathreen Adams, 23, originally told police that she had found the baby unresponsive inside the house. She later confessed that she had forgotten her children in the car. Investigators later learned that the parents had left the toddler inside the car for around 14 hours while they were inside the home.
The toddler had a 4-year-old sibling who was also in the car but managed to escape. The sibling was placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
The parents, Adams and Christopher McLean, 32, were charged with child neglect, possession of methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia, said Holmes County Sheriff John Tate in a press conference.
"The baby was asleep in the car seat. They decided to leave the child in the car and went inside and ultimately fell asleep and did not wake up or did not realize that the child was in the car until around 3:41 that afternoon," the sheriff said.
According to the sheriff, Adams "purposely, through her own statement, purposely left the child in the car throughout the night."
A search warrant of the family home found that the couple allegedly produced methamphetamine. Therefore, additional charges are to be expected, said the sheriff.
