Man charged in hot-van death of 6-month-old daughter

MELISSA, Texas (AP) — A Dallas area man whose 6-month-old daughter died after she was left in a hot minivan parked outside the family home has been charged with manslaughter.

Michael Thedford is free on $20,000 bond. Booking records list no attorney for the 33-year-old Melissa man.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KDFW-TV (http://bit.ly/28NJVGk ) of Dallas-Fort Worth, Thedford said he dropped two other children off at day care about 9 a.m. Tuesday and had returned home to sleep. Only when he woke up three hours later did he find his youngest child stiff and "hot as a brick" in the minivan. He placed the child in the refrigerator with the door open before calling 911.

The National Weather Service says temperatures were in the low 90s but felt like the upper 90s.

 



The warrant goes on to say Thedford told officers he called his wife and 911 while trying to perform CPR on the child. When deputies arrived they found the baby dead in the kitchen.

While being interviewed by the Collin County Sheriff's Office, Thedford told deputies he's an unemployed high school teacher. He said his wife of 12 years is a veterinarian, and she was at work during the incident.

Thedford was arrested on a charge of manslaughter. He was released after posting a $20,000 bond.

Temperatures in McKinney reached 91 degrees by noon the day the child died.

Child Protective Services is investigating. The two older children are not currently in CPS custody.