Peoria parents arrested after 5-year-old child left in car dies: police
PEORIA, Ariz. - A 5-year-old child was found dead in a car outside a Peoria home on Sunday afternoon.
What we know:
Investigators said the family of the 5-year-old came back home from the baptism of another child at church at 1 p.m. on Sept. 13. Just after 3:45 p.m., they realized the child was missing and began searching for him.
That's when the mother found him, unresponsive in the car at the home near 67th Avenue and Happy Valley Road.
The young boy was pulled from the car by family members and was given CPR after 2.5 hours. After Peoria Fire personnel took him to a nearby hospital, the child was pronounced dead.
According to court documents, the boy's father told investigators he asked his 14-year-old son to get the 5-year-old out of the car when they first arrived home. However, the teen told police his dad never asked him to do that.
"It appears that it was either a miscommunication between who or which family member was supposed to get the child out of the car," William Kennedy with the Peoria Police Department said.
Parents Arrested:
The child's parents, identified as Mihail Sabo and Anca Sabo, were arrested and are facing charges of negligent homicide and child abuse.
"I want to see my kids. Please let me see my kids," the mother, Anca, who was visibly emotional during her initial appearance in court on Sept. 14, said.
"The child was in the car for more than two and a half hours and the parents were not aware of his location during that whole time," Brooke Gaunt with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said.
"This was a, I can't overstress this, a tragedy," said Leah Dodd, the Criminal Defense Attorney.
What you can do:
To prevent tragedies like this, Cass Herring with Safe Kids Worldwide said parents must set reminders.
"There's a lot of technology that's built into vehicles as well as car seats. There are sensors, there are apps," she said.
She said a kid's body can heat up three to five times faster than an adult's, making reminders critical.
"Children also often fall asleep in the car and so just having that extra step, that extra reminder, is very helpful," Herring said.
Dig deeper:
Both parents were given a $150,000 bond. They are not allowed to have contact with each other and are only allowed supervised visits with their other children. They are expected to be back in court in one week.
This remains an ongoing investigation.
Map of where the incident occurred.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the Peoria Police Department and court documents.