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A Louisiana father was charged with second-degree murder after he allegedly left his 21-month-old daughter in a hot car for more than nine hours.
Joseph Boatman of Hammond, 32, was arrested Sunday after his death outside a home in Madisonville, according to the Santa Manny Parish Sheriff's Office.
“Detectives with STPSO Major Crime Division were informed that the boatman tied the child to a car seat inside the car after picking her up from her family's residence soon after 2:30 a.m. Sunday,” police said.
The sheriff's office added: “After tying the toddler to her car seat, the boatman returned to the residence and never returned to the car. It was also learned that he had consumed a variety of alcoholic beverages before the boatman arrived to pick up his daughter.”
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Police said Joseph Boatman, 32, allegedly ate several alcoholic beverages and left his daughter in the hot car. (Santa Manny Parish Sheriff's Office)
Police said they responded to the house shortly before noon Sunday, “after a family member located the unresponsive girl in the car.”
The temperature in the area around that time was about 90 degrees.
“It's a devastating loss,” Santamani Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said in a statement. “When a child stays in a vehicle, especially on a day when the calorie index climbs above 100 degrees, the result can be fatal within minutes. The case involves damage to judgment and the result is heartbreaking.”
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The Santa Manny Parish Sheriff's Office said the girl was found in the hot car on Sunday. (Santa Manny Parish Sheriff's Office)
The website did not track hot strokes in children's deaths inside hot cars in the U.S., which he said was the fifth instance of the year after cases in New Mexico, California, Maryland and New Jersey.
“Children's body temperature rises three to five times faster than adults. When children stay in vehicles, the child's temperature can rise rapidly – and the situation can quickly become dangerous,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its website.
“In 2024, 39 children died in cars, a 35% increase from 2023.”
The Santa Manny Parish Sheriff's Office arrested the boatman on Sunday, June 9. (Google Maps)
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“Don't leave a child's unattended vehicle on the vehicle for any time,” NHTSA also said, “Calling down windows or parking in the shadows does not change the internal temperature of the vehicle.”
