Boy, 4, 'boiled to death' in 139F car after his mother went for manicure on her wedding day

13 April 2012

A boy of four died on his mother's wedding day after she left him locked in her sweltering car while she went for a manicure.


Mirlande Jean-Baptiste's big day turned to tragedy when she came out of the beauty salon after three hours to find her son - who she thought was at a relative's house - slumped inside her parked vehicle.

Experts said that while the temperature outside was around 89 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature inside the vehicle could have been as high as 139 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jean-Baptiste, who works as a nurse, made frantic attempts to resuscitate her son, but he was declared dead on arrival at hospital.

The four-year-old son of Mirlande Jean-Baptiste died after his mother locked him the family's car while she had a wedding manicure

The four-year-old son of Mirlande Jean-Baptiste died after his mother locked him the family's car while she had a wedding manicure

"She is devastated," said a spokesman for Palm Beach County sheriff's department.

Jean-Baptiste, 29, had earlier called at a relative's house along with her sister to drop off several children before they headed off together to get their nails and hair done in preparation for the wedding, apparently unaware that her little boy was still in the car.

"Perhaps the child didn't get out, or snuck back into the car," said a spokesman for Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, who said that Jean-Baptiste was under sedation and had not been able to tell them exactly what happened.

The tragedy happened hours before Jean-Baptiste, of Lake Worth, Florida, was due to get married. Guests who were to have joined in the wedding celebrations were instead plunged into mourning as the bride's pastor told them the heartbreaking news.

"It was supposed to be a big wedding. We just took the decorations down," said Pastor Wendell Charles of the Elected Church of God in Lake Worth.

He added: "How come this happened to her? She's a good person." The campaign group Kids and Cars says 18 children have died in the US so far this year after being locked in hot cars, more than 80 per cent of them accidentally. Their parents never recover, said Janette Fennell, the group's president.

"They are in hell every day," she said.


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