It was during April that 67-year-old Carolyn Davis of Point Pleasant forgot her 19-month-old great-grandson was in the car. The child was left in a hot car for at least seven hours, leading to his death. After an investigation of almost a month, West Virginia State Police have now arrested Davis.

Granddaughter’s children cared for by Virginia great-grandmother

According to Cpl. A.B. Ward of the West Virginia State Police, David cared for her granddaughter’s children five days of the week while their mother was working. On the day in question, Davis had driven her granddaughter to work that morning, with the 19-month-old toddler and his four-year-old sister in the back seat.

As reported by Fox 31, when Davis arrived at her home, she reportedly exited the vehicle with the four-year-old girl but left the toddler inside the car with the windows up. The child was unattended, according to Ward, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The temperature outside the car was 81 degrees at the time; however, where the car was parked with no shade, temperatures inside the vehicle would have soared to between 120 to 140 degrees.

Great-grandmother leaves home to collect her granddaughter

Later that same afternoon, Davis got back into the car with the four-year-old girl, driving to a Wendy’s fast food drive-thru before picking up her granddaughter from work. However, when she collected her granddaughter, and she climbed into the car, the child's mother realized the toddler was blue and “stiff” in the car seat, and she couldn’t get him out.

Ward stressed that the granddaughter had found her son, deceased in the back seat of his great-grandmother’s car. Ward said the child had been dead for several hours when they found him on April 5.

As reported by People, Ward said Police believe the toddler’s death was accidental, saying police are assuming he fell asleep in the car when Davis took him home.

They surmise she had left him there to sleep and then forgot he was still in the car. He added that it would have been a horrible death for the child.

However, while the death may be accidental, Ward said police believe Davis must have known the child was dead when she returned to her car. Ward stated that they believe she drove into town, waiting for someone else to discover the child was dead, so she wouldn’t have to report it.

Ward said he doesn’t know how she could not have known the toddler was dead, seeing as she placed another child right next to him and he was stiff and purple at the time.

Davis was arrested May 5 and has been charged with child neglect resulting in death. She is being held on home confinement on a bond of $500,000.
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