Parents of 11-Month-Old Who Died Inside Hot Car in Calverton Park Charged With Manslaughter

Victor Westerkamp
By Victor Westerkamp
June 14, 2019US News
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Parents of 11-Month-Old Who Died Inside Hot Car in Calverton Park Charged With Manslaughter
Candace Rucker and Matthew Eichelberger are charged with manslaughter after their 11-month-old daughter was left in a hot car for at least 12 hours. (Calverton park Police)

The parents of Joseline Eichelberger, the baby girl that was left in a hot car for at least 12 hours last week and died from the excessive heat in Calverton Park, were charged with manslaughter Monday, June 10.

Matthew Eichelberger, 27, and Candace Rucker, 24, were charged with second-degree involuntary manslaughter concerning the gross negligence that led to the death of their 11-month old daughter, St-Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Bail was set at $50,000 for Eichelberger and Rucker.

Police found the body at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 2, at the family’s home in the 100 block of Anistasia Drive. The infant had been left in the car for at least 12 hours, according to court documents.

The child was found in the car and had been left there for at least 12 hours in heat that had reached a high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit that Sunday.

“Young children are much more susceptible to heat than adults are,” Calverton Park Police spokesman Chris Robertson told the Post-Dispatch Tuesday.

EMTs responded to a 911 call at the residence that afternoon but failed to revive Joseline after several attempts.

“It’s heartbreaking when there’s any life lost especially when you’re dealing with a child and of an age that young,” Robertson told Fox 2.

Joseline’s grandmother told Fox 2 that both parents thought that the other had taken Joseline out of the car.

“Nobody would intentionally do that,” Lilly Belfield, another family member, said.

“If you saw her smile, laugh, giggle, you would think the same thing. Nobody would ever hurt this baby,” Belfield added.

“I feel like a piece of my heart is gone because she was a part of me,” said Joseline’s cousin Lilly Bellfield, KMOV reported.

An unidentified friend of the family said the parents are desperate.

“You have two young parents. One telling one to get the child and other telling the other… you know mistakes are made,” said family friend Barbara Beckett. “it’s a nightmare, they are traumatized. They can’t stop crying.”

Joseline’s grandparents started a GoFundMe to raise funds for funeral expenses.

Overheating, an Underestimated Baby-Killer

According to an advocacy group Kids and Cars, 37 children die from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside vehicles on average per year. In 2016, 39 children across the United States died because they were left inside a hot car, according to the website No Heat Stroke. In 2017, five children died.

Over 19 years, about 700 children died of heatstroke inside cars, 54 percent of caretakers said they “forgot” that the child was there, the website found.

The U.S. National Safety Council has stated: “Parents and caregivers can act immediately to end these deaths. Even on relatively mild days, temperatures inside vehicles still can reach life-threatening levels in minutes, and cracking the window doesn’t help.”

“The National Safety Council advises parents and caregivers to stick to a routine and avoid distractions to reduce the risk of forgetting a child. Keep car doors locked so children cannot gain access, and teach them that cars are no play areas. Place a purse, briefcase or even a left shoe in the back seat to force you to take one last glance,” the website says.

NTD reporter Tiffany Meier and Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.

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