A toddler died after being left in a sweltering car on a 105-degree day by her father for nine hours after he had been drinking, authorities in Louisiana said.
Joseph Boatman, 32, allegedly strapped his 1-year-old daughter into her car seat and left her there on the hottest day of the year on Sunday, according to a press release from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office (STPSO).
Temperatures on Sunday soared to around 105 degrees in the town of Madisonville, around 30 miles north of New Orleans.
Boatman left his daughter buckled in her car seat after picking her up from a relative shortly after 2 a.m. on Sunday, detectives with the STPSO Major Crimes Unit said.
Before picking up his daughter, Boatman had “consumed multiple alcoholic beverages,” according to police.
He then allegedly went back inside and never returned for his daughter, who was discovered unresponsive inside the car by a family member at around 12 p.m. on Sunday, police said.
“This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face,” Sheriff Randy Smith from the STPSO said.
“When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking.”
Boatman, from Hammond, LA, was booked Sunday on charges of second-degree murder.
As of Tuesday, he remained jailed on a $750,000 bond.
It was not immediately known whether he had legal counsel or when his next court appearance was due.
