Inset: Kela Stanford (Jefferson County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The Alabama Department of Human Resources building in Bessemer, Ala. (Google Maps).
An Alabama woman and state child care employee left a toddler inside a hot car until he died, police in the Yellowhammer State say.
Kela Stanford, 54, stands accused of one count of manslaughter, according to Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office records.
A warrant was originally issued for her arrest on one count of being a person for hire responsible for a child under the age of 7 and leaving the child unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm, according to a press release issued by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
The incident took the life of 3-year-old Ketorrius Starks, Jr., a boy who was frequently under Stanford’s care and supervision.
“This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary,” the DA’s office said. “Our condolences go out to Ketorrius’s family.”
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At the time of the incident, Stanford worked for The Covenant Services, a private company contracted out by the Alabama Department of Human Resources to take children to and from day care, according to court records obtained by Birmingham-based Fox affiliate WBRC.
On July 22, KJ, as the boy was known, was found alone inside of a car parked outside of a house on Pine Tree Drive, authorities said. It was determined he spent some five hours inside of the vehicle – from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene – the driveway outside Stanford’s home – by Birmingham Fire and Rescue.
Stanford was known to the family as the woman from Covenant who picked up KJ – a child in the foster care system – from the state and took him to his day care appointments, his aunt told NBC News.
KJ last saw his aunt in May, she told AL.com. At the time, she brought out inflatable pool toys and fed the toddler pizza, she said.
“He was telling me, ‘Auntie, I love this,'” his aunt said. “I made his day that day, and unfortunately that was the last day I saw my nephew. It hurts. It hurts deeply because they failed him, and it makes me feel like we failed him as well.”
The child welfare agency released a statement following KJ’s death.
“A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,” the statement reads. “The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances.”
In an earlier report, WBRC posted a transcription of part of a phone call allegedly between Stanford and KJ’s family after the tragedy.
“I went to the day care,” the person identified as the former worker says. “And I got sidetracked and stopped off and got something to eat, and when I came out, instead of going to the left to the day care because I got called and said I didn’t have a case, I instantly said to myself, ‘Oh, I’m done for the day. I’m going to go home.'”
The child’s father interjects to ask how she could forget about his son. To which the woman repeatedly apologizes, says she “did not mean to” and “there are not enough words to express how bad” she feels.
Later, another of KJ’s relatives says: “This baby died in a car. He suffocated. He didn’t have no help. No nothing. You had the child safety lock on the doors. You didn’t think to look in the back seat?!”
To which the woman said to be Stanford replies: “No ma’am, I did not…I wouldn’t have killed no child.”
The little boy’s father last saw him alive the morning he died during a scheduled visitation at the DHR offices in Bessemer, a suburb of Birmingham located roughly 19 miles southwest.
“Words can’t even express how I feel right now,” the father told the TV station through tears. “As soon as I leave my son, the first thing he says is, ‘Daddy, I want to go with you.’ He says that every time, and it really hurts.”
On Friday, the family held a vigil and press conference in KJ’s honor.
G. Courtney French, the family’s attorney, addressed the allegations against the since-fired day care transporter, according to Birmingham-based ABC affiliate WBMA.
“She rode around for over an hour from 11:30 to after 12:30 with KJ in the back seat, and drove back to her home where she said she forgot he was in the car,” the lawyer said. “She had one job. She had one job to do, and that was to pick KJ up.”
French elaborated on the incident in comments to AL.com.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare. This tragedy was preventable,” the lawyer said. “Based upon a preliminary investigation, the interior temperature of the car where KJ was trapped likely exceeded 140 degrees.”
The defendant was arrested on Friday morning and quickly released after posting $30,000 bond, jail records show.
Her first court appearance was Monday, which she missed, according to WBRC. A new hearing will now be scheduled for September.
