Father ‘kills himself in woods after finding 18-month-old son dead in car where he’d been left for 3 hours’, cops say
A DEVASTATED father killed himself in the woods after finding his 18-month-old son dead in his car, where he’d been left for three hours, cops believe. Police uncovered the harrowing scene after receiving a tip about a suicidal man at a home in Chesterfield, Virginia, on Tuesday afternoon. On their way to the location, Chesterfield […]
A DEVASTATED father killed himself in the woods after finding his 18-month-old son dead in his car, where he’d been left for three hours, cops believe.
Police uncovered the harrowing scene after receiving a tip about a suicidal man at a home in Chesterfield, Virginia, on Tuesday afternoon.
On their way to the location, Chesterfield police received a second call from one of the man’s family members saying there may be a deceased child in the home.
The family member told police they were notified that the 18-month-old child was never dropped off at daycare.
Police believe during the call, the father told the family member that he had left the child in the car for three hours and was suicidal.
When cops arrived at the home, they found a car in the driveway with one of the back doors open and an empty child seat inside.
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After entering the home, officials discovered an 18-month-old boy dead.
The man was subsequently found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the woods in the home’s backyard.
Police clarified that the father left the toddler inside the vehicle outside his workplace for approximately three hours, causing the boy’s death.
The 37-year-old dad then drove home about 10 miles from his workplace after learning of the discovery in his backseat.
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“This is a horrible tragedy on so many levels. Our hearts go out to the family and friends that are going to deal with this,” Chesterfield police officer Chris Hensley said.
The victims’ names have yet to be revealed. The toddler’s cause of death has not been disclosed.
Temperatures in Chesterfield reached 80 degrees on Tuesday. Still, experts have previously warned that even on relatively cool days the conditions inside a parked car can spike quickly if the sun is out.
According to Stanford School of Medicine researchers, when temperatures outside hit 80 degrees, conditions inside a parked car can shoot up to 99 degrees after 10 minutes and 114 after 30 minutes.
“There are cases of children dying on days as cool as 70 degrees Fahrenheit,” said lead author Catherine McLaren, MD, clinical instructor in emergency medicine.
