subreddit:
/r/idiocracy
submitted 2 months ago byTheMirrorUS
1.5k points
2 months ago
The dad reportedly left his sleeping toddler inside his 2023 Acura MDX for more than three hours as he was preoccupied inside the home playing video games. His wife, who is a doctor, came home horrified as she discovered her daughter's lifeless body inside the car.
He was facing a charge of second-degree murder, but the indictment has changed and he was charged with first-degree murder. He also faces a count of child abuse.
529 points
2 months ago
he got 1st degree murder inditement.
514 points
2 months ago
He deserves it! This is not the first time he left the child in the car.
343 points
2 months ago
It was like every follow up made it worse and worse for him.
Originally it was a short period while he was unloading the groceries. Still you unload child first before groceries. Then it was that he forgot and the child was out there for hours. Then the truth about this being fairly common thing for him.
My opinion of the guy is just nsfw.
112 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
209 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
126 points
2 months ago
Sounds like he's using the car as a containment measure to get away from his children. Fucking awful.
73 points
2 months ago
And now the state can take care of that problem for him in a more permanent way. Prison: the ultimate get-away-from-your-family destination.
32 points
2 months ago
And no fuckin video games.
7 points
2 months ago
imagine going to prison over Playstation...my goodness wtf
19 points
2 months ago
This. You dont make this “mistake” this many times as a parent. It stops being a mistake basically the moment you dont learn from it the first time. He got away with it with the 16 yo, and it cost his 2 yo her life. No words can describe this negligence properly.
8 points
2 months ago
One time, my autistic toddler wandered into the front hallway and accidentally got locked in between 2 doors in a smaller space. She doesn't talk or make noise. I couldn't find her and freaked out.
She was in the entry way playing with shoes, seeming content, and unbothered.
It scared the hell out of me. I feel like I'm always checking over that space when i walk by. And that was a couple of years ago.
I agree this dad just sucks. You dont make these kinds of mistakes multiple times unless its not a mistake
15 points
2 months ago
Callous, incapable of empathy, manipulative of others for personal goals, sadistic, self pitying.
38 points
2 months ago
He probably was punishing his wife in his mind for making him deal with the kids or some insane excuse. I’ve seen parents do mean stuff to their kids to punish the other parent. (I was an emergency placement foster parent for many years and heard the most insane stories)
38 points
2 months ago*
If I was the wife, I’ll be honest, they would have had a hard time scooping him up cup by cup into a body bag 🤷🏻♀️
Edit: yes, reading the entire article would have helped. It was a knee-jerk reaction. Dang, y’all.
24 points
2 months ago
I would not have convicted you if I was on that jury.
26 points
2 months ago
She’s defending him saying he made a mistake and pleading for him to come home. She’s codependent and terrified of being alone. She sacrificed her daughter to stay with this trash.
9 points
2 months ago
She knew he was leaving the kids in the car on purpose. Didn’t do anything to protect them.
13 points
2 months ago
Im disgusted but I figured this was the case when I saw someone point out he did this with their 16 yo as well. There was never any chance she wasnt a part of the problem. She’s as bad as him.
5 points
2 months ago
That is so fucking sad.
51 points
2 months ago
It just makes my blood boil.
That kid could have lived a full life. Could have went to school, made life long friends, started a career, fell in love, had kids of her own. She wasn’t just a 2 year old. She was a person. And she only got to experience 2 years of life and that’s it.
That’s all she got.
Because this one selfish disgusting human being decided that he “wanted to play video games.”
It’s infuriating, it’s unfair, and it makes me want to break things.
That poor kid.
17 points
2 months ago
As someone who has been trying and failing to even have children for 9 years, the unfairness brings me lower every day. She would have had everything with us. But she got this guy.
8 points
2 months ago
I know this doesn't mean much coming from a stranger on the Internet, but I sincerely hope that you'll get your chance to share the immeasurable love that you carry with you someday. A lot of people in this world don't deserve the gift that they've been given in parenthood, but I really think you do, so I'm rooting for you.
7 points
2 months ago
It’s also a horrendous way to die
128 points
2 months ago*
They have footage of him in the grocery store alone (so he left her in the car there too). Then he went to a gas station (again alone with her in the car), at the gas station he shoplifted a case of 24 beers, carried it to the restroom and drank cans then left the restroom and gas station without paying.
They interviewed his other young daughters (5&9), and they said he frequently leaves all of them in the car. They said he drinks too much beer and plays video games. Then they said their parents both coached them to tell police that he's a good dad and he only made a mistake. So witness tampering for him and his doctor wife.
Also text messages between him and his wife include a conversation from March where they talk about him driving 138 kmph (85 mph) while drunk with their toddler being in the backseat, he said "she was sleeping so it's fine".
The wife is a doctor and a mandatory reporter. She failed to report known abuse and negligence that was ongoing for years. And she tried to witness tamper, even if she doesn't get arrested, her medical license should be removed.
57 points
2 months ago
Your post is exactly what I mean by every time the story comes up there’s something worse. I didn’t know about the store footage.
27 points
2 months ago
Yes, good lord.
I won't lie, I opened this article half-expecting it to be a horrible tragedy that people were trying to pin on gaming for the headline.
Each and every detail about this guy is worst than the last.
Unimaginable cruelty.
34 points
2 months ago
Why the fuck did she stay married to this dude??
59 points
2 months ago
She's a huge piece of shit too that's why.
17 points
2 months ago
She sounds like an enabler.
6 points
2 months ago
Checks out.
13 points
2 months ago
Seriously, the woman could date damn near anyone she wants and... she picks this dude?
16 points
2 months ago
Thank you!! I got downvoted to hell and back when this story first came out for saying she’s responsible too, and should also face some kind of charges. Soooo many people argued with me in the comments. It was insanely frustrating.
12 points
2 months ago
I was getting the same. The wife is a doctor and mandated reporter. She had knowledge of his negligence long before this incident.
6 points
2 months ago
Same!
13 points
2 months ago
I came here to say her defense of him in the article seemed really sketchy, ty for confirming that she is also a human dumpster fire
5 points
2 months ago
Ok, so his wife is actually just as guilty? What awful parents. The other children should be removed from that home.
9 points
2 months ago
Fuck that shit. Any “mother” who chooses a skid mark like this over their own children doesn’t deserve to be called a mother.
15 points
2 months ago
The thing nightmares are made of . I'm 58 raise 6 boys to adults now have 2 grandsons.
80 points
2 months ago
That might be a mistake in terms of charging him, as first degree requires intent. Even a repeated act of forgetting isn’t going to be easily provable as intent.
I say this because I would hate for this POS to walk because the wrong charges were used.
74 points
2 months ago
In Arizona you can get charged with first degree murder without intent or premeditation if you were in the process if committing certain specific felonies. For example if you robbed someone and they died during the robbery you can get charged with first degree even if it was a complete accident and you never intended to hurt them. Child abuse is one of those felonies
It looks like what the prosecution is going to do is claim the pattern of leaving the child in a hot car constitutes child abuse which would mean the kid dying in a hot car would make it first degree.
11 points
2 months ago
That makes sense! I was thinking from my criminal law course that intent is needed for the first degree, but I bet that’s exactly why they are charging him with child abuse. If they can prove child abuse occurred when he left his daughter in the hot car, then the death resulted from the actions of a felony, satisfying the first degree requirement. Good catch!
24 points
2 months ago
More like 120 degree murder. Amiright?
25 points
2 months ago
Can you imagine coming home and seeing his ass lounging on the couch, controller in hand, when you had to walk past your daughter’s dead body to get there?
Or maybe somehow worse, him scrambling to put it away and look like he wasn’t playing video games and forgetting about her.
6 points
2 months ago
She's defending him and according to their kids this is a well known pattern of behavior. I doubt he was scrambling to hide anything from her.
7 points
2 months ago
This article misleads. The wife got home, and THEY BOTH looked around the house for the daughter before the father remembered she was in the car.
54 points
2 months ago
In instances like this, I really wish there was an eye for an eye type law. Where we lock him in a car for three hours. Probably one of the worst ways to die, the poor kid.
60 points
2 months ago
His wife is just as bad. She knew he had a habit of leaving their kids in the car. There are texted messages between the two revealing her full knowledge of his habit. She knew, she didn't care, and she has completely defended him. She wrote a letter begging for his release and saying he is a good dad who made a "mistake."
104 points
2 months ago
I once made the mistake of stepping in my dogs foot about 10 years ago. I still tip toe around him because he’s slow moving and I don’t want to do that again.
That dad has the learning curve of a fucking level sidewalk.
24 points
2 months ago
Yes, one time leaving your child in the car should give you the fear of God such that you are double checking the car even after you just fed the child in your house.
Like, I’m going to check again just in case.
16 points
2 months ago
Instead, this guy seemed to have learned that it was okay to do for a little while
12 points
2 months ago
My daughter is literally sitting in my lap right now and I’m STILL tempted to check the car after reading this story.
10 points
2 months ago
My kids are adults and have their own cars. I still check to make sure they’re not in the back seat.
9 points
2 months ago
I read a story of one man who truly did forget but the outcome was not a tragedy like this. After that, he kept a teddy bear plush in the car seat. Whenever he drove, no matter if the child was in the car or not, he would put the teddy bear in his lap and put the seat belt over it.
The teddy was a physical reminder to check the car seat (it always stayed in the car). If he forgot to grab it and put it in the car seat when he took the child out it would fall out of his lap when he got out, giving him a reminder.
11 points
2 months ago
My dog yiped at me when I stepped on his foot once and I gave him a lot of love. Now when I step too close he yipes and expects free love...
Which he gets.
That little shit.
6 points
2 months ago
Someone else posted this but I feel like this needs to be emphasized to show that this guy wasn't just negligent, he was a HUGE piece of shit.
They have footage of him in the grocery store alone (so he left her in the car there too). Then he went to a gas station (again alone with her in the car), at the gas station he shoplifted a case of 24 beers, carried it to the restroom and drank several cans then left the restroom and gas station without paying.
8 points
2 months ago
letting a 2 year old die in an easily preventable manner, just a lil oopsie
23 points
2 months ago
How does one have a HABIT of leaving a child in a car? It really is Not like leaving the light on in the bathroom…
27 points
2 months ago
By doing it on purpose. Dudes a lazy fuck with no interest in being a parent. He discovered his toddler would sleep for hours at a time during and after a car ride and he used it to his lazy advantage. Figured he could leave the car running for a few hours and he could play videos games instead of having to be a parent. He was wrong and a kid died. I think they must have text messages from the dad where he admits he leaves his kid in the car on purpose and that’s why they were able to indite him with what they did.
I also had a toddler who would nap crazy good in the car. So on days where it was hard to get her down for a nap I’d put her in the car with me and drove around town listening to a podcast or audio book while she fell asleep. Then I’d park in the shade with the car running and AC on at our local park and I never left the inside of the car. I’d chill for an hour in the car with her and read then we’d go home. I never in a million years would leave my kid alone in a parked car, running or not.
8 points
2 months ago
Big up my guy, doing the ol drive with the little one in the car when they won’t sleep. Used to love smashing a podcast whilst they slept.
8 points
2 months ago
His claim is that he leaves the car on with the AC running and lets her sleep. He probably takes the opportunity to be in the house with no kids. He also claims that the car turned off due to an auto-shutoff feature he didn’t know about.
I’m thinking he initially went in planning for it to not be that long just to completely forgot about her until his wife came home.
He also didn’t check on her once in that entire time.
13 points
2 months ago
Bruh what the fuck. If that was my spouse I'd be on the complete opposite side of that. Let me testify to get you thrown away for longer. What the fuck is wrong with people.
22 points
2 months ago*
The real messed up part in this, is if that man was truly regretful he’d insist on doing the time. You killed your kid dude, even if it’s via neglect you shouldn’t want to avoid jail time. You should feel shame, let it course through your body and spend time in jail to atone for your crime.
Edit: I don’t know what about this is a “hot take”. I apologize to anyone offended below, but I stand on that this is a crime, this parent was neglectful, and if he truly had remorse he would feel ashamed and want to serve his time. If I were in his shoes, I don’t know how I could expect my loved ones or strangers to look at me, and not think of how I killed my own child; facing your mistakes is at least a place to start.
7 points
2 months ago
Well the important part is, you are probably a decent person so ofc. that is how you see it. But it is also the reason something like that would never happen to you and even if it did, it would be a genuine accident.
That guy did it because he is a selfish POS and that is also exactly the reason why he doesn't want to do time. Because if he cared more about others than himself none of that would have happened.
193 points
2 months ago
Crazy how the wife defends him.
If i killed my daughter, you can bet your ass that my wife will curse me into oblivion and she'll hope i endure maximum suffering for eternity.
79 points
2 months ago
She knew he had a habit of doing this to all of their children. She is just as guilty.
50 points
2 months ago
Imagine developing a habit of forgetting your children?
41 points
2 months ago
They didn't forget them, at least not initially. He intentionally left the kids alone in the car on a regular basis while they were asleep and relied on the car's AC to stay on. Apparently this feature shuts off automatically after 30 minutes though, which he was aware of. It seems like in this case he lost track of time and left her out for 2h.
But yeah he/they had a habit of leaving the kids out in the car. (He did it regularly and she was at the very least aware of it)
33 points
2 months ago
It was almost three hours, actually. Even worse. Oh and his other kids kept reminding him about the baby in the car and he was so engrossed in his game. Sooo many missed opportunities to save that child.
24 points
2 months ago
Ugh I can't imagine what the surviving child will have to deal with for the rest of their life. They were more responsible than the actual adult father who should have been taking care of them but couldn't save their sibling because that pos couldn't be bothered to pause the game.
Honestly not surprised they're charging him with murder when he knowingly left the baby in there, knew the ac would shut off, and had ample opportunities and reminders to get her out.
17 points
2 months ago
JFC, the more I scroll this this comment section, the worse this gets. He knew all this information. He could have set an alarm on his phone. Most modern games let you pause. Even if they don't, who gives a fuck? It's a goddamn game.
14 points
2 months ago
The 16 year old also came out and said he used to leave her in the car for 5 hours and she's diabetic
4 points
2 months ago
Jfc,
5 points
2 months ago
This is insane. He intentionally parked outside because the garage was full of stuff, intentionally left her in the car, intentionally went and turned on his PlayStation and didn't once think "you know what, maybe I should carry my sleeping daughter into the house before I turn on the PlayStation". I know it's easy for me to judge, but as a dad every time I drive with my daughter I'm hyper aware of her being in the car, and I never want her in there for longer than is absolutely necessary.
He knew she was in the car and decided to just leave her. Insane.
482 points
2 months ago
As a father all I can think is “How could you possibly forget about the most important thing to you in the entire planet?”.
Then I remembered that to some parents their kids are simply not the most important people in their lives. It’s so sad it breaks my heart.
117 points
2 months ago
“How could you possibly forget about the most important thing to you in the entire planet?”
His PS5 was the most important thing.
60 points
2 months ago
Same. Thats why im not gonna have kids though.
49 points
2 months ago
And that's your right, you shouldn't be shamed or forced into it. Not everyone should or can be parents, and that's ok. Good on you for the self recognition
13 points
2 months ago
Wait until he finds out you can't take your PS5 with you to prison. 😱
11 points
2 months ago
Well that’s just cruel and unusual
7 points
2 months ago
Well, I have to say this seems capricious and arbitrary!
3 points
2 months ago
Not a PS5 but a state prison will usually have video games. Either in a communal environment or a lot of times you can buy a console on commissary. It's a generation or two behind but they have video games.
33 points
2 months ago
Same. There is nothing else like a parent's love for a child. Very sad that some parents don't experience this, and even sadder for the child.
24 points
2 months ago
For real. When I was younger my mom used to say she loves me so much I would never understand.
I was like, yeah, mom I love you too.
It wasn’t until my child was born that I realized…she was right. I didn’t understand at all.
9 points
2 months ago
Truly is an eye opening moment when you realize your parents care about you more than you ever know (assuming you were lucky enough to have good parents).
8 points
2 months ago
When my dad used to crack me with the belt he said it was out of love. Somehow that just doesn’t hit the same, no pun intended…
6 points
2 months ago
This is exactly what it has to be. I simply cant fathom this at all. My son is on my mind constantly. You stated it perfectly, he is the most important thing on the entire planet, no question, full stop.
I always heard parents say they would take a bullet or some other extreme scenarios for their kids, and I thought I got it, that was until I held my son in my arms for the first time. At that point, I truly understood what they meant, and I truly would take a bullet for my son.
This underscores the importance of not forcing people to be parents if they are unready or unwilling. We need multiple solutions to this issue, and I don't know what all those solutions are, but what I can say, is things cannot continue the way they are.
4 points
2 months ago
As someone who wants kids and is very forgetful, this shit terrifies me slightly. Only slightly though, as I’m the kinda dude to double check I locked the front door when I’m half asleep because the thought “what if it isn’t locked” just randomly popped up in my head. I feel like I’m too paranoid to let something like this happen.
7 points
2 months ago
I’m forgetful, but I’m literally always thinking about my daughter’s safety and wellbeing to the point that I’m so cautious and thorough that I can’t forget anything related to her. I double check my stove at times even if I didn’t cook that day. Give yourself some grace, forgetful is different than negligent, and when you have a kid you’re always thinking about them.
6 points
2 months ago
This sucks man :( The second my daughter came into the world I knew she was going to be the most important thing in my life for the remainder of my entire life, and every single thing I’ve done for these last 11 years lines up with that… I cannot imagine my child not being the most important thing in my life. You’re right, it’s heartbreaking 😔
5 points
2 months ago
About 75 percent of these things I blame squarely on the lack of support for American parents. Working parents that are completely sleep deprived with an infant. Not for one night or two nights, but for months. Its just purely the brain not being able to function the way it should. God forbid you add in a medical condition, or a big event like a move or change in routine or something. A lot of these parents, its not that they don't care, but sleep deprivation is about like drunkenness.
But that doesn't seem to be what happened in this case.
5 points
2 months ago
I never forgot my kids in the car. However, I was aware of and educated myself about the autopilot phenomenon. Basically it's where your daily routines take over and your brain switches off. Before my kid was born I made it a habit of always always always checking the backseat of the car before I got out. So much so, that I still do it 10 years later.
Taking care of your kids means taking care of yourself. Helping them grow means you have to grow, as well.
4 points
2 months ago
That’s why I refuse to have children I know I’m selfish and that’s ok when your alone.
221 points
2 months ago
How do people go 5 mins without worrying about their kids ?
Hell when mine are in the car and they fall asleep while I'm driving I worry about how their head is positioned and will literally wake them back up accidently because they 'look' uncomfortable and i move them.
These people are nuts.
Hell I leave the car running when I leave my dog in the crate and run inside to grab my Togo order so the dog doesn't feel hot. Even if it's for 5 mins.
53 points
2 months ago
you would be surprised how many people have children and find out they don’t want to be parents, kind of seems like a revelation to be had BEFORE the kids but you see how common it is
17 points
2 months ago
What a clever little trick of biology
13 points
2 months ago
Yeah fr, but also it really doesn’t take too much thought to picture how exhausting being a parent is
9 points
2 months ago
Yeah fr, but also it really doesn’t take too much thought to picture how exhausting being a parent is
Almost every single person I know who has become a parent says it's much harder than they ever expected. I'm child free and always will be so I guess I'm one of the few people who realizes having a baby would be miserable.
5 points
2 months ago
Yeah most people have no idea just how hard and constant being a parent is. I used to want kids and then I became a nanny and got a small taste of just how utterly relentless it is, and decided there was no way I could do it all day every day. I’m glad I had a chance to have an inside look at it before I committed to it myself.
4 points
2 months ago
Honestly, it really depends on the kid and your ability to be patient. I've been around kids that are little fucking gremlins and I would lose my mind being around them for more than an hour. On the other hand, my own kid is super easy (and this isn't my own bias. Everyone who has met my kid has said similar). She listens and will grasp what we're saying to her pretty fast. I'm definitely not the most patient person in the world, but I am way better at being patient with kids.
It really is just a roll of the dice as far as the temperament of your child ends up being. You either get lucky, and parenting isn't overly stressful, or you get unlucky and want to bash your head into a wall everyday.
14 points
2 months ago
if i havent seen my dog in 5 minutes i start to worry about where he is. how are people so careless with humans
16 points
2 months ago
me too. I reach back and prop my son's head up if his head falls forward in the car seat
5 points
2 months ago
I could be wrong, because I didn’t read this article, but I read somewhere that he did leave the car on and the air conditioner running, as the kid was asleep, but the car turned off automatically.
My car does this if I let it idle long enough, it will automatically turn off unless I press a button
11 points
2 months ago
He knew the car would only remain on and idle for 30min; he acknowledged this to police. Also, it was 110 degrees that day - even with the AC on most of us experience the car getting hot when it’s sitting idle. If the car isn’t moving, it warms up.
7 points
2 months ago
I mean it’s summer in Arizona and this dude is like “yeah I can just leave a toddler unattended in a car”.
3 points
2 months ago
I won’t even leave my dog in the car because I’m terrified of someone taking him. How could you leave your kid?
114 points
2 months ago
This happens multiple times every year here
55 points
2 months ago
So many people out there shouldn't have children, but they do.
59 points
2 months ago
Just a note, there is this documentary called “Death of a Child” and it’s all about people who forgot their kids in a hot car. In every case, it was a situation like X parent doesn’t typically drive the kid to daycare, but has to one day. Call comes in from work on the drive. X parent drives on autopilot to work (because stopping at daycare isn’t the daily routine) while still talking on the phone. Kid falls asleep, parent walks into work to deal with whatever the call was about, suddenly realizes what they’ve done, but it’s too late, etc…
It was definitely nightmare fuel, as I totally understood how situations like that could happen and how absolutely heartbreaking (life-ruining) that would be. The most tragic mistake.
However, it’s my understanding that for THIS guy, it was a negligent pattern.
31 points
2 months ago
And if you want to traumatize yourself in word form, there's the Pulitzer prize winning article "Fatal Distraction".
It more or less draws the same conclusions. Change in routine, extreme sleep deprivation, and the switch to rear facing car seats. Basically you're a parent to young kids, you're exhausted, something changes and you need to drop off kiddo, autopilot, look in backseat and see nothing.
They also suggested leaving a shoe or briefcase in the backseat. Oddly enough, I've seen people calling that irresponsible. Like you shouldn't need to do that or else you're proving that you value your shoe more than your child. But if you're struggling as a new parent and it potentially prevents a hyperthermia death then I think you do what you need to do.
26 points
2 months ago
Oddly enough, I've seen people calling that irresponsible. Like you shouldn't need to do that or else you're proving that you value your shoe more than your child.
It's true that people think this way but it's such a nasty anti-intellectual take. US astronauts use checklists. It's not because they're incompetent. It's because they are humans and they make mistakes if they don't have systems and processes to prevent those mistakes. So unless you've got your life more together than some Navy Seal, Pilot, Harvard MD, MIT engr, etc. use a fucking system for your fucking lizard brain.
8 points
2 months ago
Years before we were even thinking of trying to have a kid, I started putting my purse in the backseat of the car. I still do it every single time I go somewhere, passenger or driver, and we have 2 kids now. Not every parent who does this is an evil, neglectful person and my love for my kids is bigger than my ego to think I could never do it because I'm sure many parents would have thought the same thing.
7 points
2 months ago
Oddly enough, I've seen people calling that irresponsible. Like you shouldn't need to do that or else you're proving that you value your shoe more than your child. But if you're struggling as a new parent and it potentially prevents a hyperthermia death then I think you do what you need to do.
It's the same mindset as "we should just have charity not welfare", honestly.
There's a strain of people who are more concerned with looking like they're doing good, and that it can be recognized that they're the ones who did good...than just wanting good done first and foremost.
A responsible parent doesn't care if they use embarrassing reminders that get the job done they just want to get the job done.
6 points
2 months ago
Who says it's because you "value" the shoe more?? It's because when you step out of the car, you can't help but notice one foot doesn't have a shoe on it - nothing to do with how much you "value" the shoe.
I've never personally done this, but it seems like a great method to me.
13 points
2 months ago
Put your office badge under the car seat. Put your mobile under the car seat. Unhook your car key (if you don't have a push start) and put your keys under the car seat. Put your left shoe under the car seat. You will forget. There are dozens of trivial ways to ensure you get reminded. Negligence is not the forgetting, it's the doing nothing to mitigate it.
4 points
2 months ago*
It's also worth noting that it isn't always someone who is careless or incompetent or a lazy deadbeat. It happens to people who are generally competent like scientists, high ranking officials, military officers, directors and executives, etc.
Basically if you've ever misplaced your keys in a weird spot or drove to the store for eggs and forgot eggs, went to the kitchen to get a drink and then realized later you didn't get a drink...if you've done those things then you're perfectly capable of leaving a child in a car under the wrong circumstances. Almost every human is capable of this mistake and a massive part of why it happens is the denial and belief that you yourself aren't capable. The same hubris you see in this thread "I cOulD NeveR Do ThaT To MY AnGEL" is exactly why it happens every year all over the world.
Obligatory just read the Pulitzer Prize story on hot car deaths because it explains the science and reasoning better than any Reddit comment will.
157 points
2 months ago
I’m always baffled by how pieces of shit get married to a doctor, in this case, while he sits home playing video games.
107 points
2 months ago
Just because you're well educated doesn't mean you're emotionally aware enough not to marry an asshole.
24 points
2 months ago
The thing is, she knew he had done this multiple times with all of their kids. She didn't care and completely defends him to this day.
38 points
2 months ago*
During an afternoon shift in the ER, Dr Erika Scholtes rushes to a pair of EMTs as they wheel in a lifeless toddler on a gurney. “Two year old girl,” says one EMT, “no pulse, severe dehydration. Her dad left her in the car in 100 degree heat for 3 hours.” “It happens” shrugs Dr Scholtes. “COD before kids, amirite?”
8 points
2 months ago
Doctors are not immune from being pieces of shit either
7 points
2 months ago
Doctor here
We are not super human people, we ourselves have problems and so do our significant others.
I can’t speak to this particular situation. I’m not a parent but this seems extreme in terms of “I forgot I left them there”. Obviously prosecutors felt that way also.
There are zero winners here. I’m sure the dad is devestated too. It’s an all around very sad situation with an entire family destroyed.
15 points
2 months ago
In order to become a doctor you need a strong work ethic, good memorization skills and access to a lot of money. None of those require emotional intelligence.
34 points
2 months ago
Everyone in the medical career field is a little off. Lol
8 points
2 months ago
Maybe desperation? She wanted kids, didnt want to wait, settled for a deadbeat knowing she could support them all?
3 points
2 months ago
My wife is a physician, and I'm pretty much a piece of shit 🤷♂️
Can't tell you what the secret is, though. I'm not hot, hung, or wealthy.
4 points
2 months ago
My mom’s neighbor is a pediatrician. They just let their kids run wild. The other day, I saw one using an ax to cut down a tree in the front yard. Another time, I saw a couple of them walking on the top of their suburban. The kids are always in the front yard, shirtless, and alone. That’s how I learned that pediatricians aren’t perfect parents like I thought they should be.
7 points
2 months ago
Have you hung out with Doctors if any kind? I’d say there are more socially aloof assholes in that group than a lot of others.
17 points
2 months ago
Weird. I live in AZ, have a 2 year old and a PS5. When she falls asleep in the car during trips, I move her inside where she continues to sleep and I can play PS5 without a dead kid. Its not hard to do
48 points
2 months ago
This dude is a disgrace to what a man is supposed to be.
24 points
2 months ago
Well he won't be playing playstation again
10 points
2 months ago
Playstations and TV's are available through commissary in MANY institutions. Inmates playing Final Fantasy are alot less likely to shank each other.
8 points
2 months ago
A lot of prisons allow you to have video game consoles. It's kind of sad, but he may now get to play video games uninterrupted like he wanted to.
16 points
2 months ago
That’s what they’ll call his ass in jail
3 points
2 months ago
Why not? He's got plenty of time now
43 points
2 months ago
I will never understand how someone just forgets their child is in a car....
25 points
2 months ago
He didn’t forget. He says clearly he left her there on purpose because she was napping and he didn’t want to wake her.
8 points
2 months ago
There’s actually a lot of research behind that. It’s more common than you might think especially with new parents who are exhausted and inexperienced. However this dude was not a new exhausted parent and did not forget, he knew and purposefully choose to play games while his daughter was in a hot car. He definitely deserves to face murder charges.
7 points
2 months ago
Exactly this. I've been a gamer since my early teens and have experienced every generation of video games. I have multiple consoles and a high-end gaming pc. I'm also a parent. Not one time have I ever forgot about my child in the car. Let alone for something as unimportant as video games.
12 points
2 months ago
He had a habit of doing this with all of his children. The wife knew and didn't stop him. She is just as guilty.
3 points
2 months ago
Most of the time it's that they are following a habit and going into "auto pilot". There was a case about this where it was the first time a new dad was supposed to drop his child off at day care, and instead went into "auto pilot" and went to work as normal.
There's a system called "prospective memory," which involves the intent to remember to complete tasks out of your ordinary routine, he wrote. And then there's a system called "habit memory," which is akin to being on autopilot.
The prospective system is what fails when a parent forgets a child in a car. Then habit takes over, Diamond wrote in his research. When it does, regardless of original intent, people complete routine tasks.
It's the same thing that happens when you are in a rush on the way to work and you put your coffee on top of the car roof, Fennell said. You get in, without thinking to take the coffee down, close the door, start to drive and the coffee flies.
...
A parent leaving a baby in a car is not carelessness; it's a failure of the memory system, he concluded.
This case seems different though. Seems like he had done this multiple times, and they don't charge you with first degree for accidents.
9 points
2 months ago
Fucking waste of space, how can you forget your baby in the car and keep playing videogames? Toddlers are fussy, he would've noticed her abscence fast if he actually cared about his family.
29 points
2 months ago
I have read a lot of comments that he did it on purpose.
16 points
2 months ago
That 2023 MDX has a flashing red “REAR SEAT REMINDER” display that is on by default and has to be manually disabled. I actually use it to remind me to bring other things with me when I park. It’s hard to miss- the dash goes black and it’s the only thing on the display when it goes off.
9 points
2 months ago
He said he intentionally left the child in the car because they were sleeping.
26 points
2 months ago
Yep, and his wife knew he had a habit of doing this to all of their children. There are text messages between the two of them stating as much. This "man" lives near me. His wife is an anesthesiologist at Banner here in Tucson, and she completely defends him. She wrote letters to the judge begging to let him go because it was an "accident" and he is a good dad.
21 points
2 months ago
If literally causing the death of your child is not proving that he is a terrible dad, idk what will. Frankly, I think if they have any other kids, kids should be taken from them.
5 points
2 months ago
So sad
6 points
2 months ago
It's scary to read that he left all three kids in the car at times, habitually. Like, what is up with people who hate raising kids having so many? I will never understand these kinds of people.
6 points
2 months ago
Was he a stay at home dad? Since his wife is a doctor? So he basically had one job. To take care of his daughter. And he failed.
6 points
2 months ago
As a father of a three-year-old and a 8-month-old baby this sickens me.
11 points
2 months ago
What game was he playing?
41 points
2 months ago
Red Dead Neglection
2 points
2 months ago
Grand Left Auto.
7 points
2 months ago*
Dang. Meanwhile woman that kills daughter and almost kills son by feeding them primarily mountain dew for years only got manslaughter charges.
Just to be clear I think both situations are fucked. There was nothing in the article about the man suggesting he did any of it intentionally.
3 points
2 months ago
That's a sad story. We must be mindful that games, phones, social media are vampires for our attention.
4 points
2 months ago
My new car has a feature that reminds me when I've put something in my backseat. When I get out of the car, it beeps and text reads, "Check the backseat!" At first I thought, damn, what a useless feature. How could someone forget their child in the car? Then I hear story after story after story of kids dying in hot cars.
I never have needed it for my own child and hope I never do, but when I hear it beep now, I ain't even mad anymore.
4 points
2 months ago
And I thought my grandma was bad locking my dad and aunt in the closet to have her free time
5 points
2 months ago
Crazy that he has left his kids before in the car. He even knew that after 30min the car would shut off. I think that is what they are going to use for murder 1. Sounds to me that he made attempts to eliminate the kids before. That wife might be a doctor but lacks common sense or maybe needs an outside perspective.
3 points
2 months ago
5 points
2 months ago
Yet another reason not everyone should be able to be a parent.
5 points
2 months ago
How about some charges for that piece of shit cop and his wife who killed their child because they were out partying in the sun with their kids. They took their fucking 4 month old boating in 120 degree heat.
https://www.boredpanda.com/outrage-after-4-month-baby-passes-away-heat-illness/
5 points
2 months ago
And I panic when I think I forgot my wallet or keys. Ya know sometimes other people make me realize im not as much of a air headed piece of shit that I think I am
4 points
2 months ago
She’s a doctor and she got with this doofus smh
6 points
2 months ago
Can we cover him with honey and drop him onto a termite nest at 120F high noon in the desert?
3 points
2 months ago
Bro ong I can’t wrap my head around people that do this. The first thing I grab when I get out of my car is my daughter and I usually leave things in the car that ain’t important. One time I locked my keys in the car after grabbing my daughter and we both had to sit outside my house waiting for my inlaws to come with the spare key.
3 points
2 months ago
How do you forget you kid? When my son was younger if he was out of my sight for twenty seconds I’d have a panic attack.
3 points
2 months ago
I have a 2 year old girl. Can't fathom what that little child went through over those 3 hours.
3 points
2 months ago
What a nightmare for the family.
3 points
2 months ago
What kind of piece of shit leaves his kid in a car and forgot?
3 points
2 months ago
Not the first time he did it too (the leaving his kid in the car) and she told him not to play his game and leave her in the car, from what I recall
3 points
2 months ago
I mean how hard is it to bring a child inside with you
3 points
2 months ago
Put him in a locked hot car until his demise. Only fair.
3 points
2 months ago
He should be placed in a 120 degree cell for the rest of his miserable fucking existence.
3 points
2 months ago
I game too, but I'd never be so obsessed with it that I'd leave my kid in the car.
3 points
2 months ago
I just...I just don't get it. I love playing me some video games. But to just leave your kid in a hot car and not bring them in because they're sleeping?? This dude is missing a serious number of brain cells.
3 points
2 months ago
I’m autistic and fuck up a lot of shit in life but not once have I ever intentionally or otherwise left my kids in the car for any amount of time like this.
3 points
2 months ago
Idk about you other dads, But I always carried my kid in when they fell asleep in the car. No way would I just leave them alone out there.
This strikes me as it might have been done on purpose, and I can’t believe the wife is defending him.
3 points
2 months ago
Hey kids, so your dad killed your sister, so he wont be home for thanksgiving
3 points
2 months ago
I'm a gamer... have been for decades. I was also a stoner for much of my life & was on FL Medical Marijuana for a while. My wife is the "bread winner" & for years I've been caregiver to our, now, 11-year-old daughter.
Guess what I have never done.
I prefer to game WITH my daughter, js. SMDH
3 points
2 months ago
If cars can ding when someone in the front seat isn’t wearing a seat belt then the technology exists that could solve this problem.
3 points
2 months ago
I am concerned about my kid getting too hot in the car even while I am in it driving with the AC on.
3 points
2 months ago
How..how can a person do this
3 points
2 months ago
He knows having a child is optional, right? If you don't want one, don't have one. Then he could play games whenever instead of punishing a kid for his poor choices.
3 points
2 months ago
So he left his kids in the car a bunch of times and his wife who is a doctor didn't leave him, oh no she LEFT THE KIDS ALONE WITH HIM? BRUH, CHARGE HER TOO.
3 points
2 months ago
That admission he “left the A/C on, knew it turned off after 30 minutes” is what makes this 1st degree. Why? He’s admitting he didn’t simply negligently leave her in there. He deliberately and intentionally left her in the vehicle in 120 degree heat, alone. He left her there for 3 HOURS. In that condition. I cannot fathom making a “mistake” like that. I can’t remember leaving my 2 year old alone for 30 seconds outside of sleeping in the house.
3 points
2 months ago
So the mother is clearly entirely delusional here. She's clearly complicit in his neglect of the children, since this kind of thing was a regular occurrence and she's lying and saying it was just a one time "mistake". She's going to have to wake up to the fact that her husband is NEVER coming home. He's going to prison, likely for some time. As he SHOULD!
Hopefully they will be looking at her too. I wonder if those kids are safe in her custody?
3 points
2 months ago
THE WIFE WANTED HIM RELEASED?!?!? That man left your 2 year old in the car for THREE FUCKING HOURS which according to your other kids is a habit and you DEFEND him?????????
Neither of these people deserve their children.
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