Connecticut Man Charged In Death Of 15-Month-Old Son In Hot Car Appears In Court
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A Connecticut man whose 15-month-old son died after being left in a hot car in July appeared in court for arraignment on Wednesday.
Kyle Seitz turned himself in to Ridgefield town police on Tuesday after learning there was a warrant for his arrest, police said. He was charged with criminally negligent homicide -- a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison upon conviction.
As the 36-year-old walked into the Danbury Superior Court house flanked by his attorney, Seitz declined to comment, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
Connecticut Man Charged In Death Of Son In Hot Car Due In Court
Seitz was supposed to take his son, Benjamin Seitz, to day care on July 7 but instead went to work, police said. Benjamin was inside the car for more than seven hours as temperatures climbed into the upper 80s, they said.
Seitz found Benjamin in the car when he went to day care after work to pick him up. He then took him to a hospital. The medical examiner ruled the case a homicide.
Seitz's wife, Lindsey Rogers-Seitz, has set up a website, thegiftofben.com, and has become an advocate for technology that could help prevent people from accidentally leaving children in cars.
"We're just like everybody else, and if it can happen to us it can happen to anybody,'' Rogers-Seitz said in July.
Seitz's attorney John Gulash told CBS2's Lou Young his wife and two surviving daughters moved out-of-state this past weekend, but their marriage remains strong.
"They really are doing the best they can under difficult circumstances. They have a good extended family, a good support system in the community and elsewhere. Very difficult. It's unimaginable," Gulash said.
No plea was entered Wednesday, but until the criminal case is resolved, he will see his family only if they visit him.
"There's a gentlemen's agreement for the time being, it remains in effect that he has contact with his children but it not be unsupervised," Gulash said. "He has to stay in Connecticut for the time being."
Connecticut Man Charged In Death Of 15-Month-Old Son In Hot Car Due In Court
According to Quinnipiac University criminal law professor William Dunlap, criminally negligent homicide does not require any intent.
"It simply requires that he acted with criminal negligence," Dunlap said.
More than three dozen children die of hyperthermia, a very high body temperature, in cars annually in the United States, and since 1998 more than 600 children have died in hot cars.
Heatstroke can happen when the temperature is as low as 57 degrees, and car interiors can reach well over 110 degrees even when the outside temperature is in the 60s.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
