Posted: 17:00, 5 July 2022 | Updated: 17:25, July 5, 2022
The Virginia father who killed himself after finding his son dead in the back seat of his car when he accidentally left for work “gave his life to his son in an act of devotion,” according to an obituary. Aaron Beck, 37, killed himself in the woods behind his Midlothian home on June 28 after finding his son lifeless in the car. The child’s family notified the police that the boy had not shown up at daycare. And officers went to the home after the family told officers that Aaron had made suicidal statements. “Upon arrival they found the people in the driveway with an open door with an empty child seat in the vehicle. Upon entering the residence, they found an 18-month-old deceased,” Chesterfield Police Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley said June 28. The father was found shortly after, where the family said he would be. Officers theorized that Aaron went to work in the morning for three hours and forgot to drop his son off at daycare during an ongoing heat wave. Temperatures in the area reached 80 F the day they died. Aaron Beck committed suicide on June 28 after discovering his son, Anderson Beck, dead in his car. He had accidentally left the 18-month-old in the hot car while driving to work for three hours The joint obituary for the duo says the two “were intertwined in life and death” and calls Aaron’s death an act of “devotion and love.” Anderson described as “smart” and full of “life and promise” Officers arrived at the home in Midlothian after receiving a call from the boy’s family who claimed he hadn’t turned up at daycare and his father had killed himself A coroner confirmed to DailyMail.com that Aaron died by suicide. The child’s cause of death has not yet been determined. Anderson and Aaron’s lives were intertwined in life and death,” a Legacy.com obituary reads. ‘[Aaron] he sacrificed his life to his son in an act of deep devotion and love.’ The toddler is remembered as the “brightest light that united his family.” “He was a beautiful, outgoing and intelligent little boy who lived in a family full of love and promise,” the tribute reads. Lauren Riegel posted a tribute to her stepbrother and his son on Monday along with a GoFundMe link to help “take some of the stress and burden off” Laura Police speculate that Aaron forgot to take his son to daycare in the morning and went to work. The family became concerned when it was reported that Anderson had not shown up at daycare The 18-month-old’s body was found inside the family’s home in Virginia by police before Aaron was discovered in the woods behind the home In the obituary, Aaron is remembered as a man whose “career was important to him,” but “not the focus of his life.” His “biggest dream” is attributed to “becoming a father and starting a family.” “His most devoted focus was his son, Anderson, to whom he gave immense and unending love. He was generous, kind, caring and gentle with his son. The selflessness of his love was proof of the possibilities of fatherhood, of the possibilities of the heart,” the dedication reads. A GoFundMe has been set up by the duo’s family, Aaron’s step-sister Lauren Riegel shared on Facebook. “Aaron was an amazing father and husband to his wonderful wife, Laura,” he wrote. “She is completely devastated and has a long hard road ahead of her.”
Seven hot car deaths so far in 2022
Seven children, including an 18-month-old, have died in the United States after being left in a hot car, according to No Heat Stroke, this year.
It’s also the second to die this week: Kendrick Engram Jr, three, died Sunday after his grandmother left him in the back seat of a car after running errands in Georgia.
Kendrick Engram Jr, three, was left in a hot car after his grandmother forgot him
Engram was discovered by his uncle after taking the car to a fast food restaurant. The boy was in the third row of a Nissan SUV.
He died of suffocation after temperatures reached a high of 96 degrees Celsius and a low of 90 degrees Celsius, the National Weather Service said in its forecast.
Last week, Trace Means, age five, died in a car after being left in 100F heat in Houston, Texas for two to three hours on June 20.
Trace Means, five, was left to die in the back seat of his mother’s car on Monday. He is seen above with his parents Amanda and Steve and his older sister, 8
Investigators believe his mom, Amanda Means, forgot to untie him after running into their $1.4 million home to throw a birthday party for his eight-year-old sister.
Amanda has not been charged in her son’s death, but the investigation is still ongoing.
Heatstroke deaths for 2022 began on May 3 with the death of an 8-month-old girl in Snellville, Georgia.
Nova Grace Whatley-Trejo died in a hot car after her father left her for seven hours while in custody. David Whatley failed to mention that his daughter was in the car when he was arrested
Nova Grace Whatley-Trejo stayed inside her father’s car when temperatures reached 86 degrees in Snellville.
Davied Whatley, 20, left his daughter in a parked car outside the town hall as he went to get a gun.
Whatley was arrested after a background check flagged a probation violation. While in police custody, Whatley did not report that his daughter was in the car.
He was charged the next day with his daughter’s second-degree murder.
