48 10/5/2019 Athens, AL 95 Boy 13 mo
47 10/1/2019 Phoenix, AZ 91 Samora Cousin 4 mo
46 9/29/2019 Hinesville, GA 93 Raelynn Keyes 3 yr
45 9/29/2019 Hinesville, GA 93 Payton Keyes 3 yr
44 9/27/2019 Oxford, AL 95 Boy 11 mo
43 9/21/2019 Torrance, CA 81 June Love Agosto 2 yr

48. A 13-month-old baby is boy is dead after being left inside a locked car overnight Friday and into the afternoon hours on Saturday in north Alabama.

The boy’s mother, 36-year-old Elizabeth Anne Case, is charged with murder, according to Limestone County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Stephen Young. Case is being held without bond.

Deputies responded to the intersection of Highway 251 and Highway 31 Saturday afternoon where Athens Police and Athens Fire were on scene with a vehicle containing the child, his mother and grandmother.

Investigators determined, Young said, that the boy had been left inside a vehicle overnight Friday and well into Saturday on East Limestone Road, and that the mother and grandmother were attempting to transport the child to the hospital. The baby was transported to Athens-Limestone Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation showed that Case had left her residence on East Limestone Road between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. with her child buckled into a front-facing car seat and without strapping the seat to the vehicle. Case traveled to both Limestone and Madison counties where she was “dumpster diving” while the child was in the vehicle.

She returned home around 5:40 a.m. on Saturday and left the baby in the vehicle when she went inside the home and went to bed. Case awoke around 1:30 p.m. when the baby’s grandmother came to the residence to see him.

She woke Case up by banging on the door when she couldn’t find her grandchild. They searched for the baby and found him in the car, Young said.

Instead of seeking immediate medical help, Case took the child in the home and placed him in the shower. The grandmother called 911, loaded the child in the car with Case, and met Athens Police at the Recreation Center at Highway 251 and Highway 31. Investigators developed probable cause to arrest Case for murder and transported her to the Limestone County Jail.

Young said Case is a known drug user and was out of jail on bond for a first-degree robbery. - https://www.albugle.com/news/2019/10...harged-athens/

47. "Multiple parents are grieving the loss of four-month-old Samora Cousin. The infant girl died in the backseat of a van Tuesday afternoon, according to Phoenix police.

She was in the care of a foster parent who told officers he picked up the baby for an appointment and forgot to drop her off again before returning to work at the Washington Elementary School District Service Center, where he was a supervisor.

ABC15 has learned through law enforcement sources and those who know the foster family that the father is Roger Ham. Ham has not been arrested or charged with any crimes.

Ham and his partner received extensive media coverage over the past decade for their role in fostering and adopting more than a dozen children.

The same-sex couple was even featured on Good Morning America in 2011, where anchor George Stephanopoulos mentioned an award they received from Child Protective Services for all the work they had done to provide children in need a home.

Tragically, the family is now receiving media attention for the death of a baby in their care. The biological parents of Samora tell ABC15 they are devastated and angry at the loss of their child, who they were told was in safe hands.

"She was so amazing. She was such a little personality," said Jennifer Haley, Samora's biological mother.

May 21, 2019, was one of the best days of Wesley Cousin and Jennifer Haley’s life. "My first daughter. Words cannot explain just the first time I held her," said Wesley, Samora's biological father.

The couple's joy was cut short when the state took custody of their daughter just as they were preparing to leave the hospital. "They said that I was using drugs with her when I was pregnant," said Haley.

The parents would occasionally get to visit their baby. Haley told ABC15 she thought she would be holding Samora this morning.

"When I got there, the cops were there and I thought they were going to arrest me. But they said they were there because my daughter is dead," said Haley, choking back tears. Haley said she was notified roughly 18 hours after police and the state found out their baby passed away.

In a statement, the Department of Child Safety told ABC15:

"The Department mourns the tragic loss of this innocent child and we send our condolences and prayers to the child’s loved ones. We attempted to notify the parents as quickly as possible...Our first priority is to ensure the safety of any other children that might be living in the home of the foster placement. Our team worked this investigation with Phoenix Police Department well into the morning hours Wednesday."

The Ham family did not answer their door when ABC15 reached out to get their comments for this story.

A neighbor said he saw the family’s van return Wednesday afternoon. He noticed it Tuesday, on the news, surrounded by police cars.

The biological parents, Wesley and Haley, say they want to see the baby's foster father arrested. "If it was me, and I did something like that, I would’ve been booked hours ago," said Wesley.

The parents also say they plan to sue the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

Regardless of what happens next, four parents and many siblings will never be the same. More than that, one little girl has lost her chance of ever growing up.

"The first day of school, we don’t get that. First soccer game, we don’t get that," said Wesley. "Not even having the chance to at least call me dad."

Haley also told ABC15 that two of her sons were also foster children in the care of the Ham family.

DCS said they could not comment on how many kids, adopted or fostered, the Ham’s were caring for, or what may happen to them now. - https://www.abc15.com/news/region-ph...-dead-in-a-van

45 - 46. "Authorities have released the autopsy results of twin 3-year-old girls who were found dead inside a car in Hinesville Sunday afternoon.

According to Liberty County Coroner Reginald Pierce, Raelynn and Payton Keyes died of heatstroke. Their deaths have been ruled accidental.

Pierce said these are the preliminary autopsy results; a final report is pending.

Raelynn and Payton are the 45th and 46th children to die in hot cars this year.

According to the Hinesville Police Department, investigators are still working to establish a timeline of events on Sunday when the Keyes girls were found dead.

Hinesville PD says officers were called to a home on the 200 block of Augusta Way in the Griffin Park subdivision shortly after 1:30 p.m.

Earlier in the morning, a caregiver, now identified as a foster parent, could not locate the children inside the home after searching for them. The department said the foster parent searched the backyard and surrounding area in the neighborhood before returning to home to search again.

“It was during this second search that the children were found unresponsive inside a vehicle parked in the home’s backyard,” Hinesville PD stated.

Detectives told News 3 the foster parent then made the call to police.

“This is actually not the home of the caregiver or the children, this is someplace they come from time to time and do stay for extended periods of time and they were here visiting when this unfortunate tragedy took place,” Capt. Tracey Howard with the Hinesville Police Department added.

Authorities say the girls were staying with two caregivers and two of their other siblings. - https://www.wsav.com/news/local-news...nd-in-vehicle/

44. "Alabama investigators are looking into the hot car death of an 11-month-old boy after he and his twin sister were left for hours in a vehicle at a car dealership Friday, police said.

Emergency responders went to Sunny King Honda around 11:54 a.m. after receiving a 911 call of two infants inside a vehicle, Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge said.

Their father, who works for the dealership, had taken the twins out of the backseat of his personal car by the time officers arrived, the chief said. The 11-month-olds were still in their car seats.

Both were transported to the Regional Medical Center emergency room, where the boy passed away. His twin sister is doing well, Partridge said.

Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown told CNN affiliate WIAT that the twins were in the car from about 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. “All indications seem that this is a tragic accident,” Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown told the station. “No one can fathom the way this family feels, and I especially want to make sure that people are sympathetic to this family and that they get all the facts before they pass judgment.”

“The Sunny King Automotive Group family is hurting,” the dealership said in a statement, CNN affiliate WBRC reported. “We request your thoughts and prayers for our employee and his family and the Sunny King Automotive Group family.”

CNN has reached out to the coroner’s office.

The car dealership told CNN to call back on Monday when reached for comment. But in a brief statement provided to CNN affiliate WBRC, management said the dealership “family is hurting.”

“We request your thoughts and prayers for our employee and his family and the Sunny King Automotive Group family.”

“Keep the first responders and the families in your prayer and we are certainly continuing the investigation to find out what lead up to this occurrence,” Chief Partridge said.

Police did not identify the infants. - https://fox8.com/2019/09/29/one-twin...ma-dealership/

43. "The mother of a Torrance 2-year-old who died after being left in a car has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said 34-year-old Lacey Mazzarella was arrested Wednesday in connection with her child’s death.

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On Sept. 23, deputies were called to the 22400 block of South Vermont Avenue to find the girl, identified as June Love Agosto, unresponsive.

According to the Los Angeles county corner’s report, the child’s mother told deputies that she left her toddler in a car in a Torrance driveway at 11:30 p.m. Sept. 22 in her car seat covered by a blanket with the heater on and the windows rolled up. According to the report, Mazzarella went to drink with a friend in another car and fell asleep.

Almost six hours later, at about 5 a.m. Sept. 23, Mazzarella said she found her daughter covered in vomit, “really hot” and unresponsive. Mazzarella said she took her daughter out of the car and tried to hose her off in the yard to cool her down.

The 2-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.

Mazzarella was booked at the Carson Sheriff’s Station and is currently being held on $1 million bail.

The sheriff’s department said the case was still under investigation and would be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing considerations. https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2019...car-arrested/-

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