How Could You?!
Sofia Wisher is the 23rd child to die this year due to parental neglect, and I'm beside myself.
-Carolyn French, www.BettyConfidential.com
On one particularly sweltering evening I gave my neighbors a reason to relocate after I read a news story and began screaming at the top of my lungs - "HOW COULD YOU??!"
I normally reserve that tone for instances such as Jennifer Anistonjumping into Player Mayer's bed for the umpteenth time, but this was bad. Really freaking bad.
A couple based in Antioch, California (roughly 49 miles from my home) left their 7-month-old daughter in their car … overnight … and she died.
I had tears streaming down my face and a lump in my throat the size of Italy while picturing little Sofia Wisher, alone in that car, forfourteen hours.
This wasn't a case of a mother dashing back into the house for 30 seconds to retrieve a teething ring. This was unforgiveable.
But you want to know what prompted me to tell each and every one of my friends and family members about this horrifying tale? The fact that Sofia's parents, who were supposed to love her and cherish her and take care of her, essentially got off scot-free.
The headline of the article said 'No charges for parents who left baby in hot car.'
"This is a tragic case where each parent mistakenly believed that the other parent was caring for the child at the crucial time in question," Contra Costa County prosecutor John Cope said in a press release. "While this type of deadly mistake is horrible and rarely committed by loving parents, it does not fall into the category where criminal charges will be filed. On the other hand, it does not mean that the legal system is ignoring the situation."
Sofia was held captive by her car seat, the windows of the Toyota station wagon were rolled up, and it took until 2:00 p.m. the following afternoon for her parents to realize what had happened.
Authorities later speculated that the temperature inside the vehicle likely topped 110.
I can't even write this without crying.
How could they not have noticed that she was gone the entire time? Wouldn't her mother have noticed when it was time to feed the baby? Wouldn't her father have stopped by to see his daughter in her crib? Did they usually let hours go by without feeding her or seeing that she was OK?
To make matters worse, the couple also has a 2-year-old daughter, who has since been placed in the care of the county's Child Protective Services agency. The hair on the back of my neck prickles just imagining what horrors could have befallen that poor toddler, and what she may have gone through already.
According to Momlogic.com, 23 kids, including Sofia, have died in hot cars so far this year. It's only July. Are you kidding me? How many dead children and negligent parents will we be reading about in thenext couple of months?
To quote my best friend: "There should be an application process for reproducing."
He's not wrong, and my heart breaks for those innocent children.
Carolyn French is an assistant editor at BettyConfidential.
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