Press release
A six-month-old girl died Thursday after being left in a vehicle all day, and her father was charged with criminally negligent homicide after the mother filled out a sued being assisted by criminal lawyer Melbourne, according to Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse.
Jackson Tetrick, 24, of Brownsboro, was arrested in the parking lot of the Brownsboro Elementary School on State Highway 31 at 6:40 p.m.
According to family lawyer, he took his wife to her workplace and dropped off another child at the school Thursday morning. He said he returned to the family home, forgetting the infant was still in the car seat in the automobile.
At about 9:20 am, Tetrick left his residence to go to work in Athens. When he picked up the older child at school at 3:30, he remembered he did not drop off the infant at the baby sitter’s house earlier in the morning.
Emergency CPR was administered by school staff, but the child was pronounced dead at 4:40 p.m. by Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Tony Duncan.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate the case. Personnel from the Henderson County District Attorney’s Office, Brownsboro ISD Police Department, Brownsboro Police Department, Athens Police Department and Child Protective Services are assisting.
The child’s body was sent to American Forensic in Dallas for an autopsy.
Since 1998, an average of 36 children die of vehicular heatstroke each year across the Country. The highest number of deaths was 49 in 2010 and lowest was 24 in 2015.
Studies show that a child can die in as few as 15 minutes after being left in an unattended, hot vehicle.