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An 11-month-old baby and a dog died after being left inside a car for six hours in York County, Virginia on September 12, Tuesday.
In a news conference on September 13, the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office revealed that the baby, named Myrical Wicker, and the dog were left in the car around 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM when the heat index was at least 100 degrees.
The police found out about the deceased child after responding to a call from a nearby hospital that an 80-year-old man was at the emergency room with the baby in a black plastic bag.
The man, who lived with the suspect, told the staff “that he had a deceased child in the back of his vehicle — and that vehicle was parked right at the entrance to the emergency room doors.”
According to the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, Kristen D. Graham, 40, the child’s caregiver, was arrested on the night of September 12.
She has been charged with one Felony count of Child Neglect and one misdemeanor count of Animal Cruelty.
According to York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery, Graham frequently took care of the child and the dog, and had been watching them for the past two days.
According to investigations, Graham took the child and the dog to a friend’s house at 1 AM. And then she went back to her residence at York County at around 8 AM that same day. Graham left the child and the dog inside the vehicle before entering her home and falling asleep.
Graham was then woken up around 2:30 PM by a phone call, went outside to check the child, “who was at that point, deceased,” Montgomery said.
Graham claimed that she remained in the vehicle with the child and the dog, but according to police investigation, that wasn’t the case.
“It’s senseless that something like this happens,” Montgomery said.
The investigation for the case is ongoing, but according to CNN, Graham’s charges could become homicide charges depending on the result of the investigation.
