In North Carolina, a tragic incident led to the arrest of 36-year-old Ashlee Stallings on charges of manslaughter and child abuse by wilful act causing serious injury. This followed the death of her eight-year-old daughter from hyperthermia after being left unattended inside a car.
According to a report by ABC News, the incident occurred on June 26 when Stallings left her daughter inside her car amidst hot weather conditions while she went into her office. Stallings informed police that she had left the car's air conditioner running but believed her daughter had turned it off because she felt cold.
An affidavit from the case detailed that Stallings discovered her daughter unresponsive on the car's backseat floorboard about an hour and a half after her last text communication with the girl. Upon finding her daughter in distress—taking shallow breaths and foaming at the mouth—Stallings used a hammer to break open the car's rear window. She attempted to drive her daughter to a nearby hospital but stopped at a business seeking assistance.
Tragically, despite efforts, the child was pronounced dead early Thursday morning after being transported to a hospital. Medical staff reported to police that the girl had suffered brain herniation due to hyperthermia, exacerbated by the outside temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 35 degrees Celsius).
In her statement to authorities, Stallings admitted awareness of the high outdoor temperature and acknowledged that she should not have left her daughter alone inside the car. This admission formed a critical part of the affidavit detailing the circumstances leading to the arrest and charges against her.
