Louisiana father who left 1-year-old daughter in hot car for over 9 hours faces murder charge: police

A Louisiana father was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly leaving his 21-month-old daughter inside a hot car for more than nine hours. 

Joseph Boatman, 32, of Hammond, was arrested Sunday after the child died outside a home in Madisonville, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office. 

“Detectives with the STPSO Major Crimes Unit have learned that Boatman had strapped the toddler in her car seat inside the vehicle after picking her up from a family member’s residence shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday,” police said. 

“After strapping the toddler in her car seat, Boatman went back inside the residence and never returned to the vehicle. It was also learned that prior to Boatman arriving to pick up his daughter, he had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages,” the sheriff’s office added. 

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Police say they responded to the home shortly before noon Sunday, “after a family member located the girl unresponsive inside the vehicle.” 

Temperatures in the area around that time were about 90 degrees. 

“This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face,” St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith said in a statement. “When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking.” 

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The website No Heat Stroke, which tracks the deaths of children inside hot cars in the U.S., said it was the fifth instance this year, following cases in New Mexico, California, Maryland and New Jersey. 

“A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. When a child is left in a vehicle, that child’s temperature can rise quickly – and the situation can quickly become dangerous,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says on its website. 

“In 2024, 39 children died of heatstroke in vehicles — up 35% from 2023.” 

The NHTSA also says, “Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time,” and, “Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.”