Latest news with #KeTorriusStarkesJr
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
3-Year-Old Dies in Hot Car After DHR Custody Failure
A 3-year-old boy, Ke'Torrius Starkes Jr., known as KJ, died Tuesday after being left in a hot car for approximately five hours while in the custody of Alabama's Department of Human Resources (DHR), authorities said. The incident has sparked outrage and an ongoing police investigation, with the boy's family demanding accountability. KJ, from Bessemer, was in foster care due to alleged drug use in his home when a contractor for DHR, employed by Covenant Services Inc., failed to deliver him to day care after a supervised visit with his father. The family's attorney, G. Courtney French, said the worker picked up KJ around 11:30 a.m. but instead ran personal errands, including buying food and visiting a tobacco shop, before parking at her home. 'This is a tragedy and a nightmare for any parent,' French said, per The New York Times. The child remained strapped in the car from about 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., when the day care center's call prompted the worker to find him unresponsive. Birmingham police were dispatched to a Pine Tree Drive residence shortly after 5:30 p.m., and KJ was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m. by Birmingham Fire and Rescue. Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates noted the car was off, windows up, and hot, with no other apparent cause of death, though an official ruling awaits. Temperatures in the area reached 96 degrees, feeling as high as 103 degrees with humidity, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jessica Laws. The worker, who has not been named, removed KJ to an air-conditioned residence but cooperated with police during questioning. DHR confirmed the contractor terminated the employee but offered no further details due to confidentiality. French described the lapse as systemic failure. 'The safety net that should have been in place to protect KJ and others like him is what caused his death,' he said, per People magazine. 'So the very system that is in place for his protection was the system that led to his death — and that's what's so tragic about this.' The family, considering legal action, expressed their grief in a statement: 'This is a parent's worst nightmare. Our baby should be alive.' State lawmakers, including Senators Merika Coleman and Representative Ontario Tillman, have called for answers, with Coleman vowing, per The Times, 'We need answers, and we may need to examine state law to make sure this never happens again.' Tillman echoed, 'How and why did this happen?' The child's autopsy has been completed, and his body has been released to his parents, per the county coroner's office, People magazine reported. KJ's funeral is set for August 2. Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Alabama child dies after being left in hot car while in state custody
An investigation has been triggered after a three-year-old boy died after being left in a hot car by a contractor for the state human resources department in Alabama. Ke'Torrius Starkes Jr, who was in foster care, had been picked up in the late morning on Tuesday by the worker after a supervised visit with his father, the New York Times reported. He was supposed to be transported to a day care program by a worker for the department, which oversees child protection other social services. Instead the boy was left alone strapped in a vehicle with tinted windows on a hot day in Bessemer, a suburb of Birmingham. The Birmingham police department said officers went to a private home in Bessemer to respond to a report of an unresponsive child at around 5.30pm and found that the boy was 'accidentally left inside of a vehicle while in the care of a third-party contracted worker through the Department of Human Resources'. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, the police said. The chief deputy coroner of Jefferson county, Bill Yates, told the Times that 'the child was found in a car that was ignition off, doors closed, windows up and it was hot in the car' and so far there was 'no other competing cause of death'. 'A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred,' a spokesperson for Alabama DHR 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.' Police are now investigating the incident to examine for any possible criminal charges in the case. 'We need answers, and we may need to examine state law to make sure this never happens again,' said state senator Merika Coleman, a Democrat.
CNN
3 days ago
- CNN
Attorney: 3-year-old boy died ‘a brutal death' inside hot car
A 3-year-old boy in Alabama died while in foster care, now a state agency is under investigation. CNN's Rafael Romo has the details around the shocking death of Ke'Torrius 'K.J.' Starkes Jr.
CNN
3 days ago
- CNN
Attorney: 3-year-old boy died ‘a brutal death' inside hot car
A 3-year-old boy in Alabama died while in foster care, now a state agency is under investigation. CNN's Rafael Romo has the details around the shocking death of Ke'Torrius 'K.J.' Starkes Jr.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Adorable boy, 3, killed after being left in hot car by SOCIAL SERVICES WORKER who was supposed to care for him
A three-year-old boy died after a social services worker left him in a hot car for five hours, according to police. KeTorrius Starkes Jr. was found unresponsive inside the car outside the worker's house in Alabama on Tuesday, after he had reportedly been left there between 12.30pm and 5.30pm. The boy was still in his fastened car seat in the vehicle, which was off and had the windows rolled up, officials said. He was declared dead about 30 minutes after he was found. The temperature inside the car likely exceeded 150 degrees, according to his family. KeTorrius, nicknamed KJ, was in the care of a Department of Human Resources contract worker who was supposed to take him back to day care after a supervised visit with his father, KeTorrius Starkes Sr. Instead of returning the child to day care, the worker, who has not been identified, stopped at a grocery store and tobacco shop before returning to their house, according to a lawyer hired by Starkes Sr. 'A heartbreaking and preventable tragedy,' attorney Courtney French told ABC News. 'Based upon a preliminary investigation, with the current extreme outside temperatures and the heat index of 108 degrees, the interior temperature of the car where KJ was trapped likely exceeded 150 degrees.' The employee was terminated after the child's death, the Alabama Department of Human Resources said. 'The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances,' the agency said in a statement. It's not clear why the boy had been living with a temporary foster family. KJ's family called for the employee to be face further consequences. His aunt Brittney Johnson said his death was caused by 'neglect.' 'I feel personally that he was neglected and that's the true cause of his death,' she told Local 12. Starkes Sr spoke to the press about his son and said: '[He] knew how to count, knew his colors three years old, knew all the animals. I'm talking about he was very intelligent. He was just joyful.' Meanwhile, several Alabama politicians issued statements in support of the boy's family. 'As a mother and as the Senator for the district where this tragedy happened, I am devastated by the death of little KeTorrius Starks Jr.,' state senator Merika Coleman said, as reported by CBS42. 'We need answers, and we may need to examine state law to make sure this never happens again. My prayers are with his family.' reached out to the Birmingham Police Department about whether the worker could face criminal charges.
