Baby's parents arrested

El Paso Times ^ | August 13, 2003 | Daniel Borunda

[FITZ]

Detectives on Monday arrested the parents of a baby boy left alone in a car for nine hours before being found dead Sunday morning in Northeast El Paso, police said.

Robert Anthony Paredes, 33, and Jennifer Case, 22, were arrested Monday and charged with injury to a child, police said.

Detectives were looking at the death as a case of negligence, but the investigation continues, police spokesman Javier Sambrano said. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

The couple allegedly left their 14-month-old son in his car seat overnight in a locked car parked at the Patriot Hills Apartments, 5725 Fairbanks, where they live, police said.

Detectives with the Crimes Against Persons unit learned the couple and their 4-year-old daughter and baby son had returned to their home in the apartment complex at 2:30 a.m. Sunday and discovered it had been burglarized, officials said.

Case took the girl from the back seat of the car, but the baby boy, whom police did not name, was left sleeping in his car seat in the locked car with the windows up, officials said.

"The couple did not check on the child or the vehicle assuming that the other had taken the child out of the vehicle," a police news release said.

Case awoke at 11:30 a.m. Sunday and began to look for the baby inside the home, police said. When the couple went outside, they discovered the baby in his car seat locked in the car.

Police arrived at 11:45 a.m. but found the boy "without signs of life."

[FITZ]

Another baby left tied up in the backseat of a car.

[Salvation]

So sad. This little boy is with the Lord.

[Bonaparte]

Abdicating parental responsibility to a 4-year-old. It still boggles my mind that there are people like this.

[FITZ]

and their 4-year-old daughter and baby son had returned to their home in the apartment complex at 2:30 a.m. Sunday and discovered it had been burglarized

It sounds like maybe they were preoccupied with having had their apartment burglarized ---- and the sleeping baby in the backseat was the last thing on their mind. I think people with kids should just make it a habit never to roll the windows completely up ---- just leave the rear windows half way down until the kids are at least over 5.

[new cruelty]

It sounds like maybe they were preoccupied with having had their apartment burglarized ---- and the sleeping baby in the backseat was the last thing on their mind.

In such a case, the first thing on my mind would be the safety of my family. But that's me.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

First of all, who keeps kids up until 2:30am, and secondly, wouldn't they have tried to have at least fed the boy before 11:30am when they noticed him missing?

[FITZ]

It does seem a little weird they didn't check on the baby --- even --or especially because of the burglary.

[justshutupandtakeit]

It is unimaginable to believe any husband and wife could do this. They didn't have half dozen kids so one could be lost track of for a few minutes.

Drunk, stoned, both?

[al_c]

This one takes the cake. First of all, wouldn't you call the police if your home had been burglarized? Then, wouldn't the police, having arrived on the scene, point out to these idiots that their baby was in the car? Also, don't parents put their babies to bed before going to bed themselves? What the heck were these boneheads doing?

>:o(

[Scenic Sounds]

Drunk, stoned, both?

It's hard not to expect to find that here somewhere, I'm afraid.

[Okies love Dubya 2]

Shhhh---don't you know that you're advocating common sense? Can't have any of that now! (sarcasm)

IMO, I can't believe these idiots...I always check on my kids before I go to bed. It doesn't matter how stressed out we are, we always know where the kids are and we don't make assumptions about these kinds of things--those are the kinds of mistakes that are deadly.

And, I know I will be flamed for this part, it takes less than two seconds to look in the back of your car and see if your kids are there. I do it even when the children are not with me, so I guess that I don't see how the kids being in the back seat makes any difference. My parents put us in the back seat even before it was law and both worked. No matter how busy they were, we weren't left in the car for more than a few minutes by ourselves. I know, I know, we are all human and we all make mistakes but something like forgetting about your child for hours is not a simple mistake. A mistake is forgetting to send your kid's lunch money with them to school or forgetting to stop and pick up diapers on the way home from work.

I could go on, but my 11-month-old son is trying to help me type and really wants Momma's attention. It's kind of hard to forget something as cute as him :)

[Bonaparte]

Exactly right. It's likely that this is far from the first time these two have neglected their children. Look for removal of custody. Their threadbare excuse about the burglary is pathetic. When your house has been burgled, the very first thought should be to secure your children. Afterall, a burglary is a home invasion and that should immediately trigger a responsible parent's protective instincts.

[FITZ]

Burglary is so common in El Paso, I doubt the police would come if you report it. They don't come for a stolen vehicle, they just take a report and it's filed for your insurance company's sake. It does seem odd that they wouldn't feel a little extra protection for their kids and take extra care in tucking them in safely.