Virginia father shoots himself dead outside family home hours after he accidentally left his 18-month-old son to die in hot car when he went to work and forgot to drop him off at daycare
- Virginia father dies by suicide after his 18-month-old son died in an overheated car in Chesterfield, Va.
- Preliminary findings reveal the father had gone to work for three hours and forgot to drop his son off at daycare during an ongoing heatwave
- Police found the son inside a home located on Aldengate Road and the father outside in the woods
- The 18-month-old is the seventh child to die in overheated cars in the United States this year
A Virginia father killed himself after he found his 18-month-old son dead in the backseat of an overheated car on Tuesday.
The father, who was unidentified, was found dead on Tuesday in Chesterfield with a gunshot wound to the head in the woods behind his home after police received reports he was threatening to harm himself. Officers found the body of the young child inside the home.
‘This is a horrible tragedy on so many levels,’ Chesterfield Police Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley said.
Police speculate the father went to work in the morning for three hours and forgot to drop his son off at daycare during an ongoing heatwave. Temperatures in Chesterfield reached a high of 80F on Tuesday, according to The Weather Channel.
Preliminary investigation show the father died of a self-inflected gunshot wound after finding his son lifeless in the car. The Chesterfield Police have not released the name of father and son, officers told DailyMail.com.
A Virginia father took his own life on Monday after accidentally leaving his son to die during a heat wave
The father returned home upon finding his son, dropped his body off inside, and went into the woods behind his home to commit suicide, police say
Officers arrived at the home located at the 14100 block of Aldengate after receiving a call from the boy’s family claiming he hadn’t shown up for daycare and his father was suicidal
He was found in the woods behind his home around noon, after police received a tip of where he might be located.
The child’s family alerted police on Tuesday morning that the boy had not shown up to daycare. Officers responded to the home located at the 14100 block of Aldengate Road after the family received suicidal statements from the boy’s father.
‘Upon their arrival, they located the people in the driveway with an open door with an empty child seat in the vehicle,’ Hensley said. ‘As they made entry into the residence, they found a deceased 18-month-old.’
The father was found shortly after, where the family said he would be.
Chesterfield Police Lt. Col. Christopher Hensley held a press conference on Monday to discuss the preliminary findings
The 18-month-old boy is one of seven in the United States who has died from being left in overheated cars in 2022
‘Out hearts go out to the family and friends that are going to deal with this, but we would be remiss in not taking the opportunity for people to take this moment and realize how important it is to obviously check your vehicles,’ Hensley continued.
Seven children, including the 18-month-old, have died in the United States after being left in a hot car, according to No Heat Stroke, this year.
He’s also the second to die this week: Kendrick Engram Jr, three, died on Sunday after his grandmother forgot about him in the back seat of a car after running errands in Georgia.
Kendrick Engram Jr, three, died in 96F heat after his grandmother forgot about him in the backseat of a car on Sunday
Engram was discovered by his uncle after he took the car to a fast-food joint. The boy was in the third-row sear of a Nissan SUV.
He died of asphyxiation after temperatures reached a high of 96F and a low of 90F on, the National Weather Service reported in it’s forecast.
Last week, Trace Means, 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 backseat of his mother’s car on Monday. He is pictured above with his parents Amanda and Steve, and his older sister, 8
Investigators believe his mom, Amanda Means, forgot to unbuckle him after running inside their $1.4 million home to throw a birthday party for his eight-year-old sister.
Amanda has not been charged with her sons death, but the investigation is ongoing.
Heatstroke deaths for 2022 started on May 3 with the death of an 8-month-old girl in Snellville, Georgia. Ever since, more deaths from boys and girls aged 3-months to five-years have been accumulating.
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