Texor man tries to save his infant left in hot car — by placing her in refrigerator

[edjr 5,570]

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/23/texas-man-tries-in-vain-to-save-infant-left-in-hot-car-by-placing-her-in-refrigerator/

 

 

 

When Michael Thedford arrived at the day care Tuesday morning to drop off his three children, he found that the youngest, his 6-month old daughter, was a little ill and running a fever. So he dropped off the 5-year-old and the 3-year-old and headed back home in his van with the infant, Fern.

When he reached his house in Melissa, Tex., though, he decided he needed a nap. In his haste to get inside, he forgot Fern in the van while he slept for about four hours, according to the arrest warrant obtained by WFAA.

The temperature in Melissa soared to 95 degrees that day.

At 1 p.m., Michael woke up and realized his daughter was in the car. Panicking, he ran to the front yard, according to the warrant. When he reached the van and flung open the door, he found his daughter “stiff” as a board and “hot as a brick.”

She was unresponsive as he carried her little body into the house.

Apparently in an attempt to cool her down, Michael then did the unthinkable: He placed his daughter in the refrigerator, among the Thedfords’ groceries, and left her there for “an undetermined length of time,” authorities said.

After a while, he pulled her body from the fridge and attempted to perform CPR. Only then did he call his wife and the authorities, both of whom rushed to the house.

According to a neighbor, the couple hugged and cried together.

Fern was dead. Michael has since been charged with manslaughter.

When Michael Thedford arrived at the day care Tuesday morning to drop off his three children, he found that the youngest, his 6-month old daughter, was a little ill and running a fever. So he dropped off the 5-year-old and the 3-year-old and headed back home in his van with the infant, Fern.

When he reached his house in Melissa, Tex., though, he decided he needed a nap. In his haste to get inside, he forgot Fern in the van while he slept for about four hours, according to the arrest warrant obtained by WFAA.

The temperature in Melissa soared to 95 degrees that day.

At 1 p.m., Michael woke up and realized his daughter was in the car. Panicking, he ran to the front yard, according to the warrant. When he reached the van and flung open the door, he found his daughter “stiff” as a board and “hot as a brick.”

She was unresponsive as he carried her little body into the house.

Apparently in an attempt to cool her down, Michael then did the unthinkable: He placed his daughter in the refrigerator, among the Thedfords’ groceries, and left her there for “an undetermined length of time,” authorities said.

After a while, he pulled her body from the fridge and attempted to perform CPR. Only then did he call his wife and the authorities, both of whom rushed to the house.

According to a neighbor, the couple hugged and cried together.

Fern was dead. Michael has since been charged with manslaughter.

Deaths of small children after being left in hot cars are becoming all too common.

“Every year at this time it happens to people from all walks of life,” Stan said. “It’s something we should all be more aware of.”

He’s right. As of June 9, at least 11 children had died in 2016 after being left in hot cars, CNN reported. That’s triple the number of deaths recorded in 2015. Since 1990, about 700 children have perished this way in the United States, according to the nonprofit safety group Kids and Cars.

[These people are going to extremes to remind parents that hot cars kill]

The temperature in a car can rise rapidly, and children left inside — even for just a half hour, even on a relatively cool spring or summer day — are almost immediately in danger.

Christopher Haines, director of pediatric emergency medicine at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, told WebMD that most parents don’t understand how quickly an innocuous errand can turn deadly.

“On a day that is just 72 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature [inside a car] can increase by 30 to 40 degrees in an hour, and 70 percent of this increase occurs the first 30 minutes,” Haines said.

In addition, a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s, according to the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

If you accidentally leave a child in a hot car, call the authorities immediately. Death can come quickly from heat stroke. While waiting for the proper authorities, cover the baby with cool damp clothes and get the child into the shade, according to advice from the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.

As for how to remember one’s children, Safe Kids Worldwide chief executive Kate Carr said it’s best to leave a physical reminder of the child in the back seat.

“A car can heat up about 19 degrees in as little as 10 minutes, and we’ve seen heat stroke deaths recorded when the temperature is in the 60s,” Carr told CNN. “Put something in the back seat where a child seat is always located that you’re going to need at your final destination, something you know you’re going to look for, like your cellphone, your purse, a briefcase.”

Added Carr, “This, in fact, can happen to anyone, and we’ve seen it happen to anyone.”

Michael Thedford was booked in the Collin County Jail, and posted a $20,000 bond late Tuesday. Booking records list no attorney for Thedford, the Associated Press reported Wednesday morning. It was also unclear as of Wednesday morning whether Thedford had entered a plea, according to ABC News.

 

 

 

seems like a pretty Texor response to this.

 

Notice, he decided to nap, not actually you know, go to work.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,667]

He was a teacher. I hope it wasn't metal shop or one of those trade classes. I'm willing to bet he was a stoner.

[edjr 5,570]

I can't agree with charging the dude with manslaughter.

 

He not only has to live with this for the rest of his life, you're going to potentially take a father from 2 other kids?

 

it's pretty obvious to me this was an accident.

 

DO they have to charge him with something out of the gate and drop the charges later? as opposed to the other way

[edjr 5,570]

He was a teacher. I hope it wasn't metal shop or one of those trade classes. I'm willing to bet he was a stoner.

 

 

Michael worked as a substitute teacher

 

 

 

he's a loser, we know that. Still doesn't make him a bad father.

[Hardcore troubadour 12,667]

I can't agree with charging the dude with manslaughter.

 

He not only has to live with this for the rest of his life, you're going to potentially take a father from 2 other kids?

 

it's pretty obvious to me this was an accident.

 

DO they have to charge him with something out of the gate and drop the charges later? as opposed to the other way

A guy who did it in Connecticut took a plea and got no time. Conditional discharge.

[edjr 5,570]

A guy who did it in Connecticut took a plea and got no time. Conditional discharge.

 

Good to hear.

 

Living life knowing you killed your child is worse than anything a person could live with

 

Think they could ever use that fridge again?

[dain11279 928]

This dude has a wide range of music, he went from Burn Baby Burn to Ice Ice Baby

[tanatastic 2,061]

 

Good to hear.

 

Living life knowing you killed your child is worse than anything a person could live with

 

Think they could ever use that fridge again?

Gotta store the baby back ribs somewhere.

[TimmySmith 2,782]

The entire reason that he returns home is because the kid is sick, then he gets home and forgets about her?

[edjr 5,570]

The entire reason that he returns home is because the kid is sick, then he gets home and forgets about her?

 

No.

 

he returned home because he is a loser with no job. Which is something he did everyday and probably had been up since 9, so he needed a nap.

 

The only reason he brought the girl back home is because she was sick. Which normally she'd have been at daycare.

 

HT is right in he's probably a stoner.

 

If they have 3 kids, they probably have a minivan, so her seat could be in the 3rd row and not easily visible?

[tanatastic 2,061]

Funny part is that he has an infant and doesnt wonder how in the hell he is able to take a nap. Hmm, its so quiet and peaceful here for some unknown reason, I should take a nap.

[edjr 5,570]

Funny part is that he has an infant and doesnt wonder how in the hell he is able to take a nap. Hmm, its so quiet and peaceful here for some unknown reason, I should take a nap.

 

his routine is to probably take a nap every time he gets home from dropping them off. The infant goes to daycare as well. (why if he has no job, i am sure the state pays for it - the mother probably wanted them in daycare as opposed to with the burnout father)

 

he was out of his routine and once he had forgot she was in the car, that was it.

 

the more and more I type, the more and more I am finding hard to think he's completely innocent here

[dain11279 928]

Baby You Can Fry In My Car

[Sho Nuff 719]

I can't agree with charging the dude with manslaughter.

 

He not only has to live with this for the rest of his life, you're going to potentially take a father from 2 other kids?

 

 

 

Umm, that is probably a good thing for their health.

And even if not charged, no way the state does not get involved and remove them from the home for a bit either.

[edjr 5,570]

 

Umm, that is probably a good thing for their health.

And even if not charged, no way the state does not get involved and remove them from the home for a bit either.

 

why? what did the mother do to lose her kids?

[Sho Nuff 719]

 

why? what did the mother do to lose her kids?

 

Nothing...just how most DCS type agencies work. Mother can't be around all the time, not saying they wouldn't get the kids back. But after plenty of home visits, classes, counseling and that is if the kids don't report any other types of abuses by the father.

If the father remains in the house and could be seen as a threat to their safety, it won't matter what the mother did or didn't do.

[edjr 5,570]

 

Nothing...just how most DCS type agencies work. Mother can't be around all the time, not saying they wouldn't get the kids back. But after plenty of home visits, classes, counseling and that is if the kids don't report any other types of abuses by the father.

If the father remains in the house and could be seen as a threat to their safety, it won't matter what the mother did or didn't do.

 

i'd be devastated

[IGotWorms 3,319]

What a focking piece of sh1t

[Sho Nuff 719]

 

i'd be devastated

 

I agree...even before I had kids, hardest thing about the work I was doing was reading and reviewing DCS casefiles as part of reviews and audits. After having my son, it was damn near impossible to read and see pictures of the abuses. And pissed me off royally seeing caseworkers shirk their duties at times in how they handled these cases too.

[Baker Boy 1,485]

he's a loser, we know that. Still doesn't make him a bad father.

Yes it does. His child died under his watch and it was 100% his fault!

 

I would say that is the worst kind of father.

[IGotWorms 3,319]

Yes it does. His child died under his watch and it was 100% his fault!

 

I would say that is the worst kind of father.

I hate to agree with focking phurfur, but...

 

Also pretty sure he killed that kid on purpose.

[Cruzer 1,992]

I don't know the exact #'s, but this state has way too many deaths of children being left in cars. The heat just bakes them - it's horribly sad.

[titans&bucs&bearsohmy! 2,745]

 

Good to hear.

 

Living life knowing you killed your child is worse than anything a person could live with

 

Think they could ever use that fridge again?

Maybe listentome23 can get a deal here...

 

 

And that article... Leave your phone in the backseat, something you know you will look for?

 

 

Really? You will look for your phone, but not your child?

[drobeski 3,061]

Ban windows

[fandandy 3,311]

Do newer cars have some safety systems to keep this from happening? I was thinking maybe if a seat belt is still clicked then maybe the horn goes off or something?

[parrot 789]

Also pretty sure he killed that kid on purpose.

 

Based on?

[edjr 5,570]

 

Based on?

 

[SUXBNME 1,340]

 

Based on?

Fake interweb lawyer intuition

[IGotWorms 3,319]

Fake interweb lawyer intuition

[Bert 1,092]

 

Also pretty sure he killed that kid on purpose.

Just like the guy that fed his kid to the gator in orlando. Big settlement with Disney, divorces wife and no child support.

[jerryskids 5,212]

 

his routine is to probably take a nap every time he gets home from dropping them off. The infant goes to daycare as well. (why if he has no job, i am sure the state pays for it - the mother probably wanted them in daycare as opposed to with the burnout father)

 

he was out of his routine and once he had forgot she was in the car, that was it.

 

 

This. Anyone who has regularly taken a kid to daycare knows that once you break the routine, it is easy to forget the lid is back there.

 

Of course, the whole fridge instead of 911 is Darwin Award level stoopid.

[edjr 5,570]

This. Anyone who has regularly taken a kid to daycare knows that once you break the routine, it is easy to forget the lid is back there.

 

Of course, the whole fridge instead of 911 is Darwin Award level stoopid.

 

Seems to me the fridge thing was that of panic and actually caring

[frank 2,149]

 

Baste on?

That would prove it.

[jerryskids 5,212]

 

Seems to me the fridge thing was that of panic and actually caring

Maybe. I should clarify that the fridge by itself makes some sense. It is the lack of a call for help that is dumb. I suspect he was hoping this brainstorm would fix her so he wouldn't get in trouble.

[jerryskids 5,212]

That would prove it.

You have a gift. Or a curse.

[edjr 5,570]

Maybe. I should clarify that the fridge by itself makes some sense. It is the lack of a call for help that is dumb. I suspect he was hoping this brainstorm would fix her so he wouldn't get in trouble.

 

No doubt. Had plenty of time to call for help when she was in the fridge, but can you imagine that 911 recording

[Mookz 1,287]

It's too bad she died, she could have verified that the little light goes out.

[edjr 5,570]

It's too bad she died, she could have verified that the little light goes out.

 

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

This guy stuck his dog in the freezer.

 

http://itiswhatitis.weei.com/sports/newengland/football/patriots/2016/06/21/tom-brady-posts-picture-on-facebook-of-dog-fluffy-getting-into-freezer/

[IGotWorms 3,319]

Just like the guy that fed his kid to the gator in orlando. Big settlement with Disney, divorces wife and no child support.

This guy gonna sue the refrigerator manufacturer?