BAKER COUNTY, FLORIDA: A woman living in Florida was detained on suspicion of aggravated manslaughter after a 10-month-old baby she was watching was discovered unconscious in a vehicle. The temperate inside the car was recorded at 113°F or more, according to Baker County Sheriff's authorities.
Rhonda Jewell has been accused of leaving the baby alone in the car for "at least five hours" as the ambient temperature reached 98°F. As a consequence, the child died. According to CNN, Jewell was watching the newborn and three other children on the day of the incident. She drove to the child's parent's house to pick up their 10-month-old daughter and then she intended to babysit all the children together at another place.
The infant seemed to be asleep when Jewell arrived so she left her inside the car and went inside to keep an eye on the other children, according to what she told the investigators. The infant in the car, according to her, was forgotten, as reported by the Indepedent.
Baby's mother found her to still be strapped to a car seat
The police report said, "It wasn't until the decedent's mother arrived at the address (…) to pick up her child, that the decedent's mother found her to still be strapped in a car seat inside the hot vehicle." When the mother arrived at approximately 1 pm, she discovered her child in the car, blue in the lips and not breathing. Then, she dialed 911.
The infant's skin was 'still very hot to the touch'
The hospital declared the infant dead. Even after being transferred to a hospital for treatment, the infant's skin was "still very hot to the touch," according to a detective who examined the infant. The infant's inside temperature was taken by medical personnel, who observed that 110°F was the most the thermometer could register. Jewell was then detained on suspicion of aggravated child fatal manslaughter, as per reports.
On Thursday, she was checked into the Baker County Detention Facility. Following the tragedy, Baker County Sheriff Scotty Rhoden made a statement urging the public to remember the victims when looking for details about the event.
