Parents decide to leave toddler in car to sleep, then she dies in heat, Florida cops say

Two parents “decided” to leave their sleeping 2-year-old daughter in their car when they got home late one night, then they forgot about her for approximately 14 hours as she died in the hot vehicle, Florida authorities said.

The mom, 25-year-old Kathreen Adams, has now been sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child, possession of methamphetamine and aggravated child abuse, the State Attorney’s Office for the 14th Judicial Circuit said in a Feb. 19 news release.

The child’s father, 34-year-old Christopher McLean, pleaded no contest to a similar set of charges and was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January.

McClatchy News reached out to both parents’ attorneys for comment Feb. 21 but did not immediately receive responses.

Prosecutors and law enforcement said Adams and McLean bought and used meth once Adams got off work, then they picked up their 23-month-old and 4-year-old from a family member and drove home, arriving after midnight on May 16, 2023.

“The baby was asleep in the car, in a car seat,” Holmes County Sheriff John Tate said in a news conference. “They decided to leave the child in the car, went inside and ultimately fell asleep and did not wake up or did not realize the child was in the car until around 3:41 that afternoon.”

The first deputy arrived within minutes, and the parents told investigators they found their daughter, Margie, unresponsive in her bed, according to the sheriff’s office.

But investigators became suspicious upon learning the child’s body temperature was 107 degrees.

Adams later said that she “purposely left the child in the car throughout the night” for about 14 hours as she and McLean went inside and fell asleep, according to Tate.

The 4-year-old made it inside and was placed in state custody after the sibling’s death was discovered, according to authorities.

Prosecutors said Adams “accepted responsibility for what happened, saying she is haunted by her actions that day and the loss of her child.”

McLean is accused of not cooperating, and prosecutors said he “coached” Adams to lie about finding their daughter in her bed.

Holmes County is in the Florida Panhandle.

Hot car deaths

More than 1,000 children have died in hot cars since 1998, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“About 40 children a year die from heatstroke, either because they were left or became trapped in a car,” officials said. “That’s about one child every 10 days killed in a hot car.”

Hot car deaths are most common in the summer, but they can happen at any time, according to the administration. The first “vehicular heatstroke” of the year typically happens in March.

“Leaving a window open is not enough — temperatures inside the car can rise almost 20 degrees Fahrenheit within the first 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

If you see a child alone in a vehicle, officials said you should make sure the child is responsive and if not, immediately call 911.

This story was originally published February 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Parents decide to leave toddler in car to sleep, then she dies in heat, Florida cops say."