Police later obtained additional information indicating that the child’s father was at his home in Midlothian, Virginia, making “suicide statements.”
When they arrived, police found the child’s body inside the house “and the adult man dead from obvious self-injury in the woods behind the house,” the statement said.
The investigation shows that “the father accidentally left the child in the vehicle for several hours”, the announcement states.
“When the father found the child dead in the vehicle, he returned home and took the child inside the house. He then left the house and shot himself,” the statement said.
Police did not specify the cause of the baby’s death, but the high temperature in Midlothian, about 20 miles west of Richmond, was about 81 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday.
On average, 38 children under the age of 15 die from heatstroke each year after staying in a car, according to the National Safety Council. Children’s body temperature rises much faster than adults and may begin to suffer heatstroke when their temperature reaches 104 degrees. A body temperature of 107 degrees can be fatal, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Editor’s Note: If you or a loved one have considered suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK at 741741
