Father charged with manslaughter after leaving six-month-old daughter in car on scorching hot day
Michael Thedford, from Melissa Texas, forgot his baby girl was in the people carrier, leaving her while he had a sleep
A FATHER has been charged with manslaughter after he forgot he had left his baby girl in a car on a scorching hot day.
Michael Thedford told police his six-month-old daughter was “hot as a brick” and confessed he had put the tot in the fridge in a bid to cool her down before he called them.
The incident happened in Melissa, Texas on Tuesday, which has been experiencing temperatures of up to 98 degrees celsius.
Collin County Sheriff’s officials said when they arrived at his home, the baby girl was unresponsive.
In an affidavit, it was stated Thedford had dropped his two other children, who are aged five and three off at daycare in the morning.
However their younger sister had been suffering from a fever so couldn’t go.
He told police he forgot he had the little girl in the car, a people-carrier, and went inside the house to go to sleep.
She was in the vehicle, a minivan, for three hours, until he woke up and discovered she was there.
He told police she was “hot as a brick” and stiff.
The affidavit continued Thedford “placed the child in the refrigerator for an undetermined length of time prior to calling 911.”
A neighbour revealed she had seen paramedics and firefighters arrive at the family home.
Fabiola Contreras said they left and quickly detectives arrived, she then saw Thedford’s wife arrive later, and the couple hugged and sobbed.
She recalled how police had got Thedford to demonstrate what had happened.
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Speaking to she said: "They used a Mickey Mouse type of doll for him.
“And now that I think about it, they also were measuring from the van to the door… now that I remember.”
She added the family seemed loving: "It's kind of shocking how this happened because on Sunday we saw family members and them having a good time for Father's Day.”
Temperatures in Tuesday saw it tie as the hottest day so far in 2016.
Thedford posted $20,000 bond and was released on bail.