Woman charged after boy in state's custody dies in hot car
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A former contractor for the Alabama Department of Human Resources has been charged after a 3-year-old boy, who was in the state's custody, died in a hot car last month.
Kela Stanford is charged with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm, announced Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr on Friday.
"This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary. Our condolences go out to Ke'Torrius's family," Carr wrote in a release.
Ke'Torrius “KJ” Starkes Jr., of Bessemer, was found alone inside a car Tuesday evening at a Birmingham home. According to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, the vehicle was off, and the windows were rolled up at the time Starkes was found.
The coroner's office said Starkes was in the vehicle for roughly five hours before being pronounced dead shortly after 6 p.m.
The Birmingham Police Department stated Starkes was accidentally left inside the vehicle while in the care of a third-party contracted worker through the Alabama Department of Human Resources. That person, since identified as Kela Stanford, was taken in for questioning and was cooperative, police said.
According to the family’s attorney, Courtney French, the child was being transported from daycare to a supervised visit with his father. When the visit ended at 11:30 that morning, instead of returning the child to daycare, the attorney alleges Stanford ran errands and returned home, leaving the child in the parked car.
"A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” a DHR spokesperson said in a statement. “The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances."
Stanford was booked into the Jefferson County Jail early Friday morning and released on bond a short time later, Nexstar's WIAT reported. If convicted, she could face two to 20 years behind bars.