Vanessa Esquivel, a 27-year-old mother from Texas, has been arrested and charged with murder after police say she intentionally left her 15-month-old child in a hot car for over two hours, leading to the child’s death.
According to a statement released by the Frisco Police Department, Esquivel parked her vehicle at her workplace in Frisco around 2 p.m. on August 16, knowingly leaving the child inside a car without working air conditioning. The outside temperature at the time was at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Police say the child remained in the vehicle for more than two hours before being taken to a hospital in nearby Plano. Local authorities then notified Frisco police, who launched a homicide investigation.
Detectives allege that Esquivel was aware of the car’s condition and the danger it posed. Following their investigation, they obtained a warrant for her arrest on a first-degree murder charge. She was taken into custody by Dallas police on August 20 and booked into the Collin County Jail, where she is currently being held on a $250,000 bond.
If convicted, Esquivel faces a minimum of five years and up to life in prison. As of now, it is not clear whether she has obtained legal representation.
