A Tennessee grandmother is accused of killing her infant grandson after allegedly leaving him in a hot car while she worked an eight-hour shift at a library.
Linda Charlene Stevens, 69, was arrested Friday, two weeks after her seven-month-old foster grandson, Gabriel Alonzo, was found dead in her car outside the Monterey Public Library in Baxter, according to District Attorney Bryan Dunaway.
She said she had planned to take the baby to daycare before her shift - but instead allegedly accidentally left him in his car seat, where he spent eight hours with the windows closed and the engine off.
The grandmother was booked into Putnam County Jail on a charge of negligent homicide and is being held on $50,000 bond.
'This is a devastating tragedy,' Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris said in a statement, according to a department press release.
'We are thoroughly investigating the circumstances regarding this incident,' he added.
'As temperatures rise, please take a moment and always check your vehicles. A simple check can save a child's life.'
On the morning of April 15, Stevens’ daughter asked if she could take her foster son to daycare on her way to the public library, and the grandmother agreed to help.
Seven-month-old Gabriel Alonzo was found dead in his grandmother's car
Linda Charlene Stevens, 69, was arrested Friday and booked into Putnam County Jail on a charge of negligent homicide. She is being held on a $50,000 bail
Authorities said she placed Gabriel in his car seat in the back, secured it with the belt buckle and then got into the driver’s seat.
Stevens, apparently forgetting the infant, then drove to the Monterey Branch Library and, as usual, turned off her car, went inside, and clocked in for her shift around 8am.
Investigators said it wasn’t until about 4pm, after the daycare reported the child had not arrived, that Gabriel’s mother contacted Stevens. Emergency services were called after she realized her mistake.
Officers from the Monterey Police Department initially responded to the library and performed life-saving efforts, but they were unsuccessful and Gabriel was pronounced dead at the scene.
'It’s very hard. I don’t think no one meant for this to happen,' Sheriff Farris told WKRN News.
The temperature ultimately rose to a high of 84 degrees, according to data from AccuWeather.
Detectives with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office later joined Monterey police in the investigation and in obtaining a warrant.
She faces one to two years behind bars if convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
'We haven’t even got into summer yet, and I’m sure I will be not the only chief of law enforcement that has these interviews throughout the summer, and so we don’t need that to happen,' Farris told WKRN.
'It's really sad,' he added. 'We all need to pay attention, and, for no reason, it's not okay to leave a child in the car anytime for any length of time. Bad things happen when you do that.'
The nonprofit Kids and Car Safety reported that the death of Gabriel marked the second hot car death of a child in the United States this year, with the first reported earlier in Florida.
More than half of hot car deaths involving children age three or younger occur when a child is unknowingly left in the vehicle by an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver, according to the outlet.
'Hot car deaths increased to alarming numbers after children began riding in the back seat of vehicles,' they wrote.