A father was found guilty of criminal negligence in the death of his 6-month-old daughter left inside a hot car.
Michael Thedford was found guilty of criminal negligent homicide and abandoning and endangering a Child, Bill Wirskye with the Collin Co. District Attorney’s Office confirms.
According to the warrant, the Melissa father told investigators that he took his 5-year-old and 3-year-old children to daycare at about 9 a.m., back in June 2016. He stated the youngest child, named Fern according to her grandfather, wasn't going to daycare that day because she had a virus and was running a fever. When he went home, Thedford says he forgot the baby was in the car and went inside the house to take a nap.
The warrant states that when he woke up around 1 p.m., roughly four hours later, he said he discovered the baby was in the car and ran outside. He found her unresponsive and took her into the house. Temperatures in Collin County reached 91 degrees by noon the day the child died.
Michael's father, Stan Thedford, spoke to WFAA in June 2016. He called his son a fantastic, doting dad. He says he can’t speak to how his son forgot Fern in the car. “Every year at this time it happens to people from all walks of life,” he said of the tragedy. “It’s something we should all be more aware of," he said.
