Parents Arrested After Their 2-year-old Was Left In Closet Overnight With Space Heater And She Died

Two Indiana parents have been arrested for neglect after allegedly leaving their 2-year-old daughter in a closet overnight with a space heater turned up.

Berne Police officers found the toddler dead on Nov. 27 with an internal body temperature as high as 109.4 degrees.

The parents, 21-year-old Sintia Perez and 23-year-old Jace Hirschy have been each charged with a felony for neglect of a child resulting in death and two more felony charges for neglect of a dependent, according to WANE.

The Indiana Department of Child Services took the couple’s two other children, ages 3 and 5, into custody after allegedly finding the family’s living conditions to be “extremely unhealthy” for the kids, according to WLBT.

A Berne Police officer who responded to the scene said the room where they found the dece@sed 2-year-old was “disarrayed” with trash, soiled diapers and feces around the room, WLBT reported.

The young girl was found lying on a “very soiled mattress” in her crib, police said, according to WLBT.

Citing a probable cause affidavit, WPTA reported that responding officers “felt an immediate heat difference from the main bedroom to the interior of the closet,” where the child was allegedly left overnight.

Perez, the girl’s mother, allegedly told police they placed the toddler in her crib around 7 p.m. the night before with a space heater turned as high as it could be set and did not check on her until about 3 p.m. the next day, WPTA reported, citing the affidavit.

An autopsy showed the young girl died from hyperthermia, or overheating, according to WPTA.